Subclavian-external carotid artery bypass graft. Restoring blood flow to the brain.

This article describes an unusual surgery for a type of carotid artery disease. The perioperative nurse has an important role on the vascular team when performing this procedure. For this reason, a thorough knowledge of the events and possible complications are important in the care of these patients. Careful preoperative nursing assessment and postoperative follow-up will help prevent any complications and promote a successful outcome in these patients.

Microvascular surgery in the posterior fossa: nursing diagnoses.

Posterior fossa revascularization is a new surgical technique to supply bypassed blood flow past stenoses in the vertebral and basilar arteries. Comprehensive cardiovascular assessment and management by the critical care nurse promotes euvolemia and slight hypertension, which optimizes blood flow through the anastomosis. The authors describe the critical care nursing techniques for the potential nursing diagnoses for these patients.

Extracranial-intracranial bypass surgery.

Although the indications and effectiveness of the operation remain controversial, extracranial-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass surgery has become a common method in the treatment of patients with cerebral vascular disease. The technical feasibility of the procedure and its low mortality and morbidity rates are well established. However, its usefulness remains unproven in a variety of clinical, angiographic and regional cerebral blood flow patterns. This discussion focuses on the purpose of EC-IC bypass surgery as well as the procedure itself and postoperative nursing care.