Stent Therapy

Overview of Stent Therapy

Your doctor may recommend placing a stent to reopen your blocked artery. A stent is a small, expandable, mesh-like tube that supports the artery and helps to keep it open.

Stent Illustration - Before, During and After Stent Procedure

Implanting a stent does not require open surgery. The doctor inserts a catheter into an artery in your arm or leg, similar to the balloon angioplasty procedure. A specially designed catheter delivers the stent to the narrow area in the artery. The stent is expanded, flattening the plaque against the artery wall and holding the artery open with a mesh tube. The catheter used to deliver the stent is then removed, but the stent stays in your artery permanently to maintain healthy blood flow.

Benefits of stent therapy:

The stent scaffolds the artery open, improving blood flow.
You are awake for the procedure; general anesthesia is not needed.
The hospital stay is usually brief.
You may be able to return to normal activities quickly.

Risks associated with stent therapy:

The stent can occlude, causing reduced and/or no blood flow to the area.
The insertion site may bleed or become infected.
The artery may become blocked again (restenosis).
The stent could puncture the artery (Artery Perforation)

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