Who cannot have a carotid stent operation?

See below.: Patients with calcified arteries or plaque in the arteries in their chest - risk of it breaking off and causing a stroke. This includes many older patients >80 years. Patients with tortuous or twisted arteries - can't get the stent up to the carotid. Some argue that low surgical risk asymptomatic patients should get surgery or nothing due to the higher stroke risk in several studies with stents.

Some: If vessel completely closed or if free floating clot present at the narrowing then no stent. If young surgery may be better. As an interventional radiologist, i perform these procedures and at my hospital a surgeon, neurologist, and interventional radiologist review the patient and arrive upon a treatment plan that is best for the patient.

Carotid stents: Those with circumferential calcification or with thrombus in their carotid should not have carotid stent placement if they otherwise would be candidates. Those with severe aortic arch disease in whom catheter manipulation would be dangerous or with severe common carotid or innominate artery stenosis ipsilaterally causing access problems might not be candidates.