Clopidogrel Loading or Maintenance Before Carotid Endarterectomy is Not Risky for Post-operative Bleeding orWound Revision

Objective: To investigate whether clopidogrel loading or maintenance before carotid endarterec-tomy affecs postoperative bleeding or wound revision. Material and Methods: Patients with symptomatic carotid arterial disease were divided into 3 groups: group I was not on antithrombotic therapy, group II was on clopidogrel and antithrombotic therapy for at least 7 days, and group III was on antithrombotic therapy without clopidogrel and administered 600 mg clopidogrel 2 h before surgery. Results: Hemoglobin decreased in all groups. The differences between preoperative and postopera-tive values were statistically significant. Hematoma developed in a total of 4 patients; 2 of them were in group II, and 2 were in group III. No difference was found among the groups in terms of bleeding-related complications. Conclusion: Insignificant hemorrhage-related complications support administration of a loading dose of clopidogrel together with the ongoing anticoagulant- antiaggregant therapy before carotid endarterectomy.