Neuropsychological Parameters of Carotid Endarterectomy: A Two-Year Prospective Analysis

To investigate the long-term effects of carotid endarterectomy, three groups were studied: (a) patients receiving carotid endarterectomies, (b) patients with carotid artery disease receiving medical management, and (c) general surgical controls. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the Wechsler Memory Scale, and the Halstead-Reitan Battery were administered prior to surgery and at 6 months and 2 years after surgery. Two-way analyses of variance revealed a significant main effect for trials on a majority of the neuropsychological measures, including the Average Impairment Rating. However, on baseline and on both follow-up evaluations, the carotid endarterectomy patients did not differ significantly from the carotid disease patients who received medical management.