Surgery following stroke is relatively rare and only for specific cases is it helpful in treating and preventing a stroke. . 

Surgery following a brain haemorrhage

A few people had surgery following a brain haemorrhage (bleed in the brain) (see Stroke Associations factsheet on ‘Haemorrhagic stroke’) . An operation is sometimes performed to remove blood from the brain and occasionally to repair the leaking blood vessel. If this happened, the operation was usually performed in an emergency, life saving situation and the person had not been fully conscious before surgery and had been in intensive care after so had no memory of the operation.

He doesn't remember his operation but understands that they cleared the blood and repaired a blood vessel. He is very grateful to the surgeon who performed the operation.

One woman, however, had a relatively rare condition in which a malfunction of the connections between arteries and veins in the brain causes a haemorrhage. This was identified by an angiogram (see 'Getting a diagnosis'). She underwent a special procedure using stereotactic radiotherapy to repair the connections and was awake during the procedure.

She had a relatively rare procedure known as stereotatic radiotherapy to repair a malfunction of the connection between arteries and veins which had caused her brain haemorrhage.

Carotid Endarterectomy 

Sometimes a stroke is caused by a block in one or both of the carotid arteries which carry blood to the brain through the neck. If it is suspected that this might be the cause of the stroke then a scan of the carotid arteries is performed to look at the extent of the blockage (see 'Getting a diagnosis').  

Carotid endarterectomy is usually only performed when there is a partial block and removal of the blockage will help prevent a further stroke or minor strokes. Several people had more major strokes due to a complete block in the carotid artery and were told that an operation would not help improve function or prevent another stroke.

He was told that an operation would not help because the blockage in his carotid artery had caused permanent damage.

A few people had been experiencing transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs) or minor strokes as a result of a partial block in the carotid artery and were offered surgery to clear the blockage. Surgery is most successful when the arteries are between 70 and 99% narrower than they should be.

Those who were offered a carotid endarterectomy had been told that it was 95% successful but that there was a risk of having a stroke during the surgery. One woman was quite nervous about the operation and initially decided to put it off, however, when she continued to get TIAs she decided to go ahead with the surgery. She chose to have the surgery under general anaesthetic because she was quite nervous.

At first she decided not to have the carotid endarterectomy because of the risk but when she kept having TIAs she went ahead and had the surgery under general anaesthetic.

Another man decided that surgery was his best option and underwent two different operations to remove blockages from both carotid arteries. Although both operations were eventually successful during the first one there was a problem with his heart and he needed to be resuscitated.

During his first carotid endarterectomy he had a problem with his heart and needed to be resuscitated. He has no regrets about the operation because it was successful.

He was awake during both procedures and said that he felt no pain but could feel slight tugs as they worked on his neck.

Both people who had this operation said they recovered quickly and were able to go home within a few days. The woman had felt some slight numbness around her neck and was warned that she may feel some dizziness for a few weeks. This is quite normal and usually fades with time.

See the Stroke Association factsheet ‘Carotid artery disease’ for more information on carotid endarterectomy.

A few people had heard of pioneering research using stem cell therapy, where stem cells are injected into the brain close to the stroke site, and wondered if it worked. This research is very new and has not been tested and is not recommended in humans yet (for more information see BBC’s website).

Last reviewed August 2011.

Last updated October 2010.