Duke's Cerebrovascular Center offers innovative treatments to clear narrowed carotid arteries in the brain. This narrowing is known as carotid stenosis.
Plaque build-up or artherosclerotic disease can cause the carotid arteries to narrow. The narrowed arteries lessen the blood flow to the brain and increase the risk of stroke as blood clots form in the arteries and travel to the brain.
Treatment
Duke offers both carotid endarterectomy and angioplasty and stenting to treat carotid stenosis.
Your doctors carefully consider your medical history and the condition of your arteries before deciding which treatment option to pursue.
Carotid Endarterectomy
Carotid endarterectomy is a surgical procedure where your surgeon makes an incision in the artery and removes the plaque build-up surgically.
This procedure is generally considered for men whose carotid artery is 50 percent blocked and for women's whose carotid artery is 70 percent blocked. We usually consider this option for patients who are at a low risk for surgery.
Carotid Stenting
Duke offers carotid stenting for patients who are not eligible for carotid endarterectomy.
In this procedure, your surgeon places a small tube in an artery in the groin. An umbrella-shaped filter is inserted through this tube and into the normal artery below the stenosis.
With this protective device in place, an angioplasty balloon is used to open the area of carotid stenosis. Any debris that is dislodged by the balloon is captured by the filter.
A stent is then put into place in the artery to ensure that is stays open, and the filter device is carefully removed.
The Duke Difference
At the Duke Cerebrovascular Center, we base our treatments of carotid stenosis on the most current clinical research studies.
We carefully consider recommendations made from these studies as we seek to offer our patients innovative procedures and the most current therapies.
Appointments
For information about scheduling an appointment with a specific doctor, visit the Contact Us page.
Physicians
Physicians offering this service include:
Locations
This service is available at:
