Stent

  A stent is a small mesh tube that is used to improve blood flow in arteries that become narrow and weak because of deposition of cholesterol and fatty substances in the blood. Usually made of metal mesh, cardiac stents are placed in narrowed arteries of the heart during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or angioplasty. Vascular stents are mostly flexible and are placed in the peripheral arteries during peripheral artery angioplasty. Stenting is minimally invasive.   Once a stent is delivered or deployed, it cannot and is not removed. Over a period of time this stent becomes a part and parcel of vessel wall.  It gets embedded into the vessel wall layer – normal cells grow over it covering it completely. This process is called as endothelization.     Types:  

• Bare-metal stent
• Drug-eluting stent – stent coated with medicines inhibit scar tissue growth and help reduce in-stent restenosis
• Bioabsorbable stent - dissolve in around 18-months reducing the risk of scarring and restenosis
• Dual-therapy stent - combination of bioengineered stent with drug elution
• Covered stent - metallic mesh covered by an extremely durable fabric.