Carotid stenosis. Surgery after 75 years.

Is it reasonable and useful to perform surgery on carotid lesions after 75 years? ("old man" according to the W.H.O. classification). To answer this question, we re-examined 66 patients aged 75 to 87 years, who underwent 76 carotid thromboendarteriectomies with one post-operative death. The results study showed that morbidity and general complications were not more important than in younger patients. Late results from 2 to 94 months showed a very low percentage of secondary neurologic complications even if patients had a vascular or general surgical intervention in a second period: 13 cases. There were only 2 re-stenoses. Indications were defined, but it was above all the asymptomatic patients or patients who had a TIA who could benefit from them.