Annals of vascular surgery
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Any obstacle in the contralateral artery has long been considered a high risk for carotid surgery. Here, we report the results of a monocentric, continuous, consecutive, prospective series and present a review of the literature. ⋯ In this series, and in a large review of literature, occlusion of the contralateral internal carotid artery increased the incidence of intolerance to clamping and thus the use of shunts but did not worsen postoperative morbidity and mortality. The presence of a stenosed contralateral carotid was not predictive of postoperative events. In our experience, the status of the contralateral carotid artery cannot be considered a high risk for carotid surgery.