Carotid artery surgery - discharge

The carotid artery brings needed blood to your brain and face. You have one of these arteries on each side of your neck. Carotid artery surgery is a procedure to restore proper blood flow to the brain.

You had carotid artery surgery to restore proper blood flow to your brain. Your surgeon made an incision (cut) in your neck over your carotid artery. A tube was put in place for blood to flow around the blocked area during your surgery. Your surgeon opened your carotid artery and carefully removed plaque from inside it. The surgeon may have placed a stent (a tiny wire mesh tube) in this area to help keep the artery open. Your artery was closed with stitches after the plaque was removed. The skin incision was closed with surgical tape.

During your surgery, your heart and brain activity were monitored closely.

You should be able to do most of your normal activities within 3 to 4 weeks. You may have a slight neck ache for about 2 weeks.

You may start doing everyday activities as soon as you feel up to it. You may need help with meals, taking care of the house, and shopping at first.

Do not drive until your incision is healed, and you can turn your head without discomfort.

You may have some numbness along your jaw and near your earlobe. This is from the incision. Most of the time, this goes away in 6 to 12 months.

Having carotid artery surgery does not cure the cause of the blockage in your arteries. Your arteries may become narrow again. To prevent this:

Contact your provider if:

Brott TG, Halperin JL, Abbara S, et al. 2011 ASA/ACCF/AHA/AANN/AANS/ACR/ASNR/CNS/SAIP/SCAI/SIR/SNIS/SVM/SVS guideline on the management of patients with extracranial carotid and vertebral artery disease: executive summary: a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines, and the American Stroke Association, American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, American College of Radiology, American Society of Neuroradiology, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, Society of Atherosclerosis Imaging and Prevention, Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, Society of Interventional Radiology, Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery, Society for Vascular Medicine, and Society for Vascular Surgery. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2011;57(8):1002-1044. PMID: 21288680 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21288680/.

Cameron J. Vascular surgery. In: Cameron J, ed. Current Surgical Therapy. 14th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 16.

Kinlay S, Bhatt DL. Treatment of noncoronary obstructive vascular disease. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann, DL, Tomaselli GF, Bhatt DL, Solomon SD, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 44.



Review Date: 1/23/2023
Reviewed By: Mary C. Mancini, MD, PhD, Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Shreveport, LA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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