Cerebral reperfusion following carotid endarterectomy occasionally causes cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome. This is a rare but important complication and this case report acted as a stimulus for a literature review of this problem.
A 60-year-old businessman had a right carotid endarterectomy for a severe stenosis which had caused recurrent attacks of amaurosis fugax. The left internal carotid artery had occluded asymptomatically. The operation and his immediate postoperative recovery were entirely uneventful but he developed right-sided headaches and focal sensory motor seizures. He subsequently recovered.
Hemodynamically compromised patients appear to be at greater risk and as the mortality of the operation is reduced and more complex patients are treated, it is likely that this unusual complication will increase in incidence.
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