Stent

Overview

A stent is a tiny tube that your doctor places inside an artery to keep it open. They do this procedure after clearing away plaque (a buildup of cholesterol and fat). Think of it as crowd control for your artery, allowing blood to flow more easily.

Stents are small, tube-shaped devices that are expanded inside the artery during the procedure. A coronary stent can range from 8 to 48 millimeters in length (up to nearly 2 inches) and 2 to 5 millimeters in diameter (about the size of a crayon tip to a pencil eraser). Other types of stents can be much larger.

Once placed, a stent remains in your artery permanently, except for dissolvable ones. They resemble tiny fishing nets and are often made of metal, although other materials are used for specific types of stents.

You might associate stents primarily with arteries, but they can also be used in other parts of the body. In addition to blood vessels, doctors use stents to keep airways, bile ducts, or ureters open. Airway stents are often used as a temporary solution until surgery can be performed.

Types of stents

Types of stents include:

• Bare metal stents: Made from materials like nickel-titanium alloy, stainless steel, or cobalt-chromium, these stents are used in blood vessels such as coronary or carotid arteries. This type of stent is a more traditional technology.
• Drug-eluting stents: These stents are metal but are coated with medication that helps prevent the coronary artery from narrowing again by inhibiting the growth of scar tissue within the stent during the first few months.
• Biodegradable stents: A newer and less widely used option, these stents dissolve within the arteries over a few months.
• Polyester fabric and metal stents: Designed for larger arteries like the aorta.
• Silicone stents: Typically used in the airways of the lungs.

Reasons for undergoing the procedure

Intravascular stents are used by doctors to prevent an artery from becoming overly narrow or clogged, which prevents blood from passing through it easily. Consider getting one if:

• A heart attack has occurred.
• The buildup of plaque within your artery is known as atherosclerosis.

• There’s a 70% significant blockage in your artery.

Once your doctor removes a plaque buildup inside your blood arteries, stents can help them function more efficiently. This plaque gathering may occur if you possess:

• Carotid (neck) artery disease.
• Coronary (heart) artery disease.
• Renal (kidney) artery disease.
• Peripheral (legs) artery disease.

Aortic aneurysms and Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), which is a blood clot in the arm, pelvic, or leg, can also benefit from stent placement.

Risks

Stent implantation seldom results in serious problems. Serious consequences are more likely in people with diabetes, kidney disease, heart failure, or a history of arterial blockage.

These are the possible risks:

• Stroke.
• Infection.
• A tear in the artery.
• Irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia).
• The stent leaking or shifting out of place.
• Lung collapse (pneumothorax).
• Restenosis (the artery narrowing again over time).
• Heart attack or cardiac arrest.
• A blood clot forming inside the stent, particularly if you suddenly stop taking the prescribed medications that protect it.
• An allergic reaction to the stent material or the drug coating on it.
• Bleeding at the site where the blood vessel was accessed.

Outcome

• In the artery where stents are inserted, they improve blood flow.
• In conjunction with angioplasty, they can help prevent a heart attack.
• They might prevent your artery from narrowing excessively once more.
• They alleviate your chest pain and dyspnea (which arise when your doctor inserts a stent in your coronary artery).
• Because implanting a cardiac stent is a minimally invasive treatment, patients who get it recover more quickly than those who undergo Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) surgery.