Stents

This channel includes news and new technology innovations for stents, also called vascular scaffolds. Stents are used to help prop open a vessel treated by balloon angioplasty because of the barotrauma caused by the extreme stretching of vessel walls. The stent enables to vessel to heal in an open position with collapsing. Drug eluting stents (DES) are coated in anti-proliferative drugs to precent scar tissue growth which can cause restenosis and occlude the vessel. DES require antiplatelet therapy because the drug carrier polymer on DES can cause thrombus inside the stent, even years after treatment, which is why bare metal stents are still used in some patients. This page includes news on coronary stents, carotid stents, peripheral stents, bioresorbable stents, and renal stents.