Seeing light and shadows: A commentary on the 2017 European Society for Vascular Surgery carotid guidelines

2017 European Society for Vascular Surgery guidelines for management of carotid and vertebral artery disease

“…1 The document itself is ponderous, running some 80 pages and inclusive of nearly 500 references; indeed, I found it a wonderful reference document. The Special Communication article of Paraskevas et al 2 published in this issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery is a useful guide to discern differences in the current ESVS guideline that might be compared, for example, with the widely quoted American Heart Association and Society for Vascular Surgery guidelines. Even somewhat amusing is the resurrection of the carotid artery stenting (CAS) as an alternative (typically considered in some quarters to mean equivalent) to carotid endarterectomy (CEA) language; at least in symptomatic patients, the 2017 ESVS guideline strongly endorses CEA (vs CAS) as the preferred intervention in the majority of patients.…”