Carotid Endarterectomy
Alternate Names : CEA
What happens later at home?
Most people will have a sore neck where the muscles were cut for a few weeks.
This usually can be relieved with heat and pain medication. Most people
function well after returning home. The surgeon provides specific wound care
instructions before sending the person home.
What are the potential complications after the procedure?
Complications from a carotid endarterectomy vary from mild to major. Some
people have muscle tenderness and mild bleeding. Also, a person may have
bruising or bleeding into the neck tissues from the use of the blood-thinning
medication. This is usually not serious and goes away by itself.
Occasionally, there may be nerve damage to 1 of the nerves in the neck or
face, which may cause permanent muscle weakness. About 1% of the people who
have a carotid endarterectomy will have a stroke around the time of the
surgery. This risk is higher among people who were having symptoms before
surgery. Infection and allergic
reactions to anesthesia may
occur. Intracerebral hemorrhage, or
bleeding in the brain, is an infrequent but serious complication. Rarely, the
person may have a heart attack or even
die after an endarterectomy.
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