Stent

Alternative Names: Drug-eluting stents; Urinary or ureteral stents; Coronary stents

A stent is a tiny tube placed into an artery, blood vessel, or other duct (such as one that carries urine) to hold the structure open.

Description of Procedure

When a stent is placed into the body, the procedure is called stenting. There are different kinds of stents. Most are made of a metal or plastic mesh-like material. However, stent grafts are made of fabric. They are used in larger arteries.

An intraluminal coronary artery stent is a small, self-expanding, metal mesh tube that is placed inside a coronary artery after balloon angioplasty to prevent the artery from re-closing.

A drug-eluting stent is coated with a medicine that helps further prevent the arteries from re-closing. Like other coronary stents, it is left permanently in the artery.

Risks of Stent

See also:

• Angioplasty and stent placement - heart
• Angioplasty and stent placement - peripheral arteries
• Percutaneous urinary procedures
• Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS)
• Carotid artery surgery
• Aortic aneurysm repair - endovascular
• Thoracic aortic aneurysm

Coronary artery stent	Coronary artery balloon angioplasty - series

Review Date: 5/23/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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