What you can expect

For carotid endarterectomy surgery, you may be given a numbing medication. Or you may be given general anesthesia that puts you in a sleep-like state. Your surgeon will make a cut along the front of your neck, open your carotid artery, and remove the plaque deposits clogging your artery. Then your surgeon will repair the artery with stitches or a patch made with a vein or artificial material. Your surgeon might use another technique that involves cutting the carotid artery and turning it inside out, then removing the plaque.