To investigate the changes of carotid hemodynamics in children with mixed cerebral palsy with carotid sympathetic nerve network resection and vagal nerve isolation (referred to as modified carotid sympathectomy) by color Doppler ultrasound.

From June 2019 to July 2021, 30 children with mixed cerebral palsy who underwent modified carotid sympathectomy at the Cerebral Palsy Treatment Center of Chongai Hospital of Jinan University were selected, carotid color ultrasound was performed 2 d before and 9 d after the operation. The preoperative and postoperative carotid artery color Doppler ultrasound indexes were compared with self-contrasted method, including: Carotid artery diameter and Peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), systolic to diastolic ratio (S/D), resistance index (RI).

The PSV and EDV of bilateral carotid arteries in 30 children with mixed cerebral palsy after operation were higher than those before operation, the S/D was significantly lower than that before operation, and the RI of left side was lower than that before operation, The differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). RI on the right side was lower than that before operation, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the diameter of bilateral arteries (P>0.05). One month after operation, 5 children in this group had a significant reduction in salivation, 26 had improvement in cognitive ability and attention, 14 had improvement in unclear speech, 21 had improvement in motor function, and 3 had improvement in chewing and swallowing function. The overall improvement rate was 79.7%.

After the modified carotid sympathectomy, the carotid blood flow velocity of children with mixed cerebral palsy was significantly accelerated, indicating that the damaged brain tissue of cerebral palsy was repaired and compensated to varying degrees on the basis of improved blood supply, thereby improving the clinical symptoms of children.