The purpose of this work is to investigate the correlation between regional oxygen saturation (rSO(2)) changes and stump pressure (SP) during cross-clamping of the internal carotid artery in carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and verify the perspectives of rSO(2) to become a criterion for shunting. Sixty consecutive CEAs under general anesthesia were studied prospectively. Selective shunting was based on SP