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The surgical management of carotid body tumors requires identification and preservation of neural and vascular structures without compromising resection of the neoplasm. Fifteen patients were examined and treated for carotid body tumors at the Cleveland (Ohio) Clinic Foundation from 1979 through 1987. The benchmark of diagnosis is bilateral carotid angiography. When neural structures are free of tumor, meticulous dissection facilitates their preservation. Large tumor size increases risk for arterial resection necessitating reconstruction. The use of a vascular shunt minimizes the risk of cerebral ischemia. Postoperative intravenous digital subtraction angiography allows for evaluation of arterial repair. A retrospective review of 15 carotid body tumor resections performed in 14 patients revealed no evidence of tumor recurrence, no mortality associated with surgical intervention, no postoperative cerebrovascular accident, and limited morbidity associated with unavoidable sacrifice of neural elements.

In a study of 53 cases, aneurysm size was measured with the use of preoperative physical examination, lateral abdominal roentgenography, and B-mode aortic ultrasonography for comparison with direct intraoperative measurement during aneurysmectomy. Mean aneurysm diameter on the basis of physical examination overestimated aortic size by 1 cm; physical examination measurement was within 0.5 cm of true aortic size in 38% of patients and within 1 cm in 58% of patients. The lateral roentgenogram also overestimated mean aortic diameter by 1 cm and was within 0.5 cm of true aortic size in 44% of patients and within 1 cm in 72% of patients. Measurement using B-mode aortic ultrasonography closely approximated intraoperative aneurysm measurement. Measurement was identical in 34% of patients and was within 0.5 cm and 1 cm in 75% and 92% of patients, respectively.

From 1965 through 1980, 1,108 patients (1.5%) underwent thrombectomy and local arterial reconstruction because of brachial artery occlusion after a total of 73,750 cardiac catheterization procedures performed at the Cleveland Clinic. In a study group of 100 consecutive patients, 91 had simple arteriotomy revision and nine had segmental arterial resection with either axial reanastomosis or a saphenous vein interposition graft. Thirteen patients sustained early recurrent thrombosis after limited arteriotomy revisions, and 11 of these had successful reoperations. Ninety-eight patients were discharged from the hospital with normal distal pulses and no ischemic symptoms. Statistical analysis indicated that women were more likely than men to experience early recurrent thrombosis, and that late ischemic symptoms were most common among women and among those who required reoperations at the time of initial treatment.

Routine coronary angiography to determine the prevalence of severe coronary artery disease (CAD) has been recommended to all patients under consideration for elective peripheral vascular reconstruction at the Cleveland (Ohio) Clinic since April 1978. Those found to have severe, correctable CAD have been advised to undergo myocardial revascularization prior to performance of elective peripheral vascular operations. Forty-one of the 68 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) and 26 of the 71 patients with aortoiliac occlusive arterial disease (AI) had clinical evidence of CAD; coronary angiography demonstrated severe, correctable CAD in 23 patients with AAA and in 14 patients with AI. Twenty-seven patients with AAA and 45 patients with AI had no clinical evidence of CAD; severe, correctable CAD was found in six patients with AAA and in six patients with AI. Ninety-six patients, including 26 who had staged cardiac procedures performed, have had elective aortic reconstruction, with one operative death.

Between January 1974 and March 1977, arm bovine carotid heterograft arteriovenous fistulas were constructed in 75 patients. Twenty-six fistulas were established between the distal radial artery and an antecubital vein, and 49 fistulas used the brachial artery and the axillary vein. Thirty-eight heterografts have functioned without complication over a maximun interval of 29 months, including 15 of 26 radiobasilic fistulas and 23 of 49 brachioaxillary fistulas. Of the 37 heterograft failures, 28 were caused by thrombosis, six by infection, two by false aneurysm formation, and one by distal arm ischemia. Early postoperative thrombosis was associated with a higher subsequent failure rate after thrombectomy than was late thrombosis and it often required insertion of a new heterograft. Infected heterografts must be ligated and eventually replaced with another fistula at a distant site to avoid the potentially lethal complications of systemic sepsis and local hemorrhage.

It is widely accepted that transient cerebral ischemia and permanent stroke frequently are caused by platelet and thrombotic cerebral emboli that originate from lesions at the carotid bifurcation. Microembolization from ulcerated atheroma during carotid dissection also offers a logical explanation for the incidence of intraoperative neurologic deficits during carotid endarterectomy. The risk of intraoperative embolization is obvious when ulcers are macroscopic; but focal cerebral ischemia associated with atheroma that appear smooth and nonulcerated usually has been attributed to decreased regional cerebral blood flow. Several endarterectomy specimens were submitted for scanning electron microscopic evaluation using X20 through X4,000 malignification. Results indicate that carotid atheroma may contain superficial ulcerations and thrombi that are not appreciated by direct inspection or conventional microscopic techniques. Electron microscopic ulcerations and intraluminal thrombi may be responsible for embolic transient ischemic attacks, spontaneous strokes, and intraoperative neurologic deficits in patients in whom gross ulcerations are absent.