898 Contrast Enhancement CT Scan and

SUMMARY Cerebral hemorrhage, an unusual complication of endarterectomy, is often attributed to postoperative hypertension. A patient with a middle cerebral artery stroke had a hemorrhage without hypertension, 2 days postoperatively. Pronounced contrast enhancement of the infarction during the 7 weeks prior to surgery reflected severe disruption of the blood-brain barrier. Contrast CT scans may detect patients at risk for post-endarterectomy hemorrhage even 2 months after a stroke or TLA. Stroke Vol 17, No 5, 1986 CEREBRAL HEMORRHAGE is a rare occurrence after carotid endarterectomy, usually ascribed to post-operative hypertension, and generally occuring in the region of recent infarction. We report a patient whose CT scan showed infarction with pronounced and pro-longed contrast enhancement; a postoperative hemor-rhage, seven weeks after the stroke, was unassociated with hypertension. Marked contrast enhancement may indicate extensive damage to vessels within or sur