Endarterectomy is a
surgical procedure to remove the
atheromatous ''plaque'' material, or blockage, in the lining of an
artery
An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pu ...
constricted by the buildup of deposits. It is carried out by separating the plaque from the arterial wall.
It was first performed on a
subsartorial artery
The femoral artery is a large artery in the thigh and the main arterial supply to the thigh and leg. The femoral artery gives off the deep femoral artery or profunda femoris artery and descends along the anteromedial part of the thigh in the fem ...
in 1946 by a Portuguese surgeon, João Cid dos Santos, at the
University of Lisbon
The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; pt, Universidade de Lisboa, ) is a public research university in Lisbon, and the largest university in Portugal. It was founded in 2013, from the merger of two previous public universities located in Lisbon, t ...
. In 1951, E. J. Wylie, an American, performed it on the
abdominal aorta. The first successful reconstruction of the
carotid artery was performed by Carrea, Molins, and Murphy in Argentina, later in the same year.

An
endarterectomy of the carotid artery in the neck is recommended to reduce the risk of
stroke when the carotid artery is severely narrowed, particularly after a stroke to reduce the risk of additional strokes.
Coronary endarterectomy involves removing atheroma from the wall of blocked blood vessels (coronary) supplying the heart muscle. The concept was first introduced by Bailey in the 1950s prior to the advent of
coronary artery bypass surgery to help patients with
angina and
coronary artery disease
Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease (CHD), ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial ischemia, or simply heart disease, involves Ischemia, the reduction of blood flow to the myocardium, heart muscle due to build-up o ...
. It is still used today when coronary artery bypass surgery proves difficult. Livesay in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and Nair in
Leeds
Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...
have published the largest series in the world.
A
femoral endarterectomy is also frequently used as a supplement to a vein bypass graft at the sites of
surgical anastomosis.
Pulmonary hypertension caused by chronic thromboembolic disease (CTEPH) may be amenable to
pulmonary thromboendarterectomy of the
pulmonary artery. This procedure was refined by
Jamieson over the last two decades and his technique has become the standard worldwide.
See also
*
Atherectomy
*
Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy
References
External links
*
*
Vascular surgical procedures
{{surgery-stub