Stroke Surgery May Be Safe For Some Kidney Patients

But experts warn that the benefits should be weighed against the risks.

Because patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have a high risk of complications after invasive surgeries, there has often been reluctance by some physicians to perform operations, such as those used to clear blockages in blood vessels, that could lower the risk of stroke. But a recent study, published in the January issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, found that CKD patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy greatly reduced their risk of stroke. Endarterectomy is generally recommended for symptomatic high-grade (70 to 99 percent) stenosis of the internal carotid artery. In the re-analysis of data from the North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial (NASCET), researchers included patients with symptomatic stenosis and either stage 3 CKD or preserved kidney function.