ref EJVES Feb 2016
The answer is: VERY LIKELY; In one of the largest reported analysing subclinical cerebral changes associated with CEA, it was demonstrates that awake patients who need a shunt are more prone to develop diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging brain scans (DWI) lesions detected by MRI scans 5 days later, and the use of a shunt is an independent predictor.
One in every eight CEA patients developed new DWI lesions (rate doubled in symptomatic patients). Shunt dependence in conscious CEA patients is highly associated with the development of new DWI lesions compared with non-shunted patients.
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