Surgical management of extracranial carotid artery aneurysms

Between 1982 and 1991 we performed eight operations on seven patients with carotid artery aneurysms. Their mean age was 52.8 years (range: 20-67 years). Five aneurysms were atherosclerotic, one was associated with Marfan's syndrome, and two were pseudoaneurysms, one occurring after Dacron patch angioplasty and the other due to tuberculosis. Seven aneurysms were treated electively; one patient underwent an emergency surgical procedure. In one case, the internal carotid artery was ligated. Seven operations were reconstructive. No intraluminal shunt was used. No perioperative deaths occurred. Regressive hemiparesis and ipsilateral Horner's syndrome developed in one patient. The follow-up period ranged from six months to nine and a half years. One patient died of myocardial infarction three months after surgery.