Learn About Stent Placement
A stent is a tiny tube placed into a hollow structure in your body. This structure can be an artery, a vein, or another structure, such as the tube that carries urine (ureter). The stent holds the structure open.
Drug-eluting stents; Urinary or ureteral stents; Coronary stents
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.
A coronary artery stent is a small, self-expanding, metal mesh tube. It is placed inside a coronary artery after balloon angioplasty. This stent prevents the artery from re-closing.
A drug-eluting stent is coated with a medicine. This medicine helps further prevent the arteries from re-closing. Like other coronary artery stents, it is left permanently in the artery.
Most of the time, stents are used when arteries become narrow or blocked.
Stents are commonly used to treat the following conditions that result from blocked or damaged blood vessels:
- Coronary heart disease (CHD) (angioplasty and stent placement - heart)
- Peripheral artery disease (angioplasty and stent replacement - peripheral arteries)
- Renal artery stenosis
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm (aortic aneurysm repair - endovascular)
- Carotid artery disease (carotid artery surgery)
Other reasons to use stents include:
- Keeping open a blocked or damaged ureter (percutaneous urinary procedures)
- Treating aneurysms, including thoracic aortic aneurysms
- Keeping bile flowing in blocked bile ducts (biliary stricture)
- Helping you breathe if you have a blockage in the airways
Related topics include:
- 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
Regents Of The University Of California
Mahmoud Malas is a Vascular Surgeon in San Diego, California. Dr. Malas is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in Stent Placement. His top areas of expertise are Carotid Artery Disease, Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA), Stent Placement, and Carotid Artery Surgery.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Marc Schermerhorn is a Vascular Surgeon in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Schermerhorn is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in Stent Placement. His top areas of expertise are Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA), Carotid Artery Disease, Aneurysm Repair, and Carotid Artery Surgery.
New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center
Gregg Stone is a Cardiologist in New York,, New York. Dr. Stone is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in Stent Placement. His top areas of expertise are Heart Attack, Coronary Heart Disease, Mitral Valve Regurgitation, Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI), and Heart Bypass Surgery.
Summary: This study collects information about the safety and effect of portal vein stenting in gastrointestinal cancer patients with portal vein stenosis. This study may help researchers learn how long the portal vein stays open and free from blockage and the effects of portal vein stenting on patients' overall well-being.
Summary: Comparison of routine postoperative stenting versus no stenting after ureterorenoscopy for ureteral stones to assess the necessity and impact on complication risk.
Published Date: May 10, 2024
Published By: Neil Grossman, MD, Saint Vincent Radiological Associates, Framingham, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
Tambyraja AL. Vascular and endovascular surgery. In: Garden OJ, Parks RW, Wigmore SJ, eds. Principles and Practice of Surgery. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 22.
Teirstein PS, Kirtane AJ. Interventional diagnosis and treatment of coronary artery disease. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 59.
Textor SC. Renovascular hypertension and ischemic nephropathy. In: Yu ASL, Chertow GM, Luyckx VA, Marsden PA, Skorecki K, Taal MW, eds. Brenner and Rector's The Kidney. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 47.
White CJ. Atherosclerotic peripheral arterial disease. In: Goldman L, Cooney KA, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 27th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2024:chap 65.