Evolution of carotid restenosis after endarterectomy.

Some 176 consecutive carotid endarterectomies performed during 1987 were assessed after 11.5 and 44 months. There were four perioperative deaths. At mean follow-up of 32.5 months the 50% restenosis rate progressed from 9.7% to 11.9%. Of the 168 carotid arteries with a normal patency at discharge, 36 showed progression of stenoses as judged by duplex scanning during the observation period of 44 months. Twenty-nine stenoses were present within 1 year and seven developed between 12 and 44 months. Successive assessments revealed marked differences in the evolution of restenoses which usually depended on the degree of severity reached at the end of the first year: 44% progressed, 28% regressed and only 28% remained stable. The risk of late occlusion in vessels with a < 50% restenosis at 1 year was below 1% and the risk of progressing to a stenosis > 50% was 3.3%. Assessment at 56 months was limited to patients who had a restenotic lesion during the first 44 months. It confirmed that the disease was still unstable with progression in 7% of cases and regression in 10%. This study did not demonstrate any significant restenosis after 20 endarterectomies using the eversion technique compared with an incidence of 13.4% after 156 standard endarterectomies.