Usefulness of Brain Protection and Compressed Spectral Array Monitoring in Carotid Artery Surgery / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Detection and prevention of cerebral ischemia are some of the most important aspects in the surgical manipulation of the carotid artery. During the last several decades, various methods including analog EEG had been tried, but none of them proved to be satisfactory. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A new intraoperative EEG monitoring technique with compressed spectral array (CSA) monitoring was applied. With brain protection, patient's EEG was continuously monitored before and after carotid clamping. RESULTS: Each case of carotid endarterectomy, rupture of carotid and innominate artery, and carotid artery resection with vein graft was successfully managed without any neurological complication during and after the surgery. Average carotid clamping time was 59 minutes. Neither carotid bypass nor shunt was used in any cases. CONCLUSION: EEG monitoring with CSA technique was easy to read, easily applicable in the operating room, convenient to compare data before and after the carotid clamping, and it showed data continuously for 9-18 minutes on a window. This technique was also very useful in emergency carotid surgery cases where no preoperative information about cerebral circulation were available.