Drug-eluting stent

Common card · No. 433877

A drug-eluting stent (DES) is a medical implant consisting of a tube, made of a mesh-like material. It is used to treat atherosclerosis, the narrowing of arteries. It alleviates the symptom both mechanically (by providing a supporting scaffold inside the artery) and pharmacologically (by slowly releasing a pharmaceutical compound). A DES is inserted into a narrowed artery using a delivery catheter usually inserted through a larger artery in the groin or wrist. The stent assembly carries the DES mechanism towards the front of the catheter, and is usually composed of the collapsed stent over a collapsed polymeric balloon mechanism which is inflated to expand the stent once in position. The stent expands and embeds into the occluded artery wall, keeping the artery open, thereby improving blood flow. The mesh design allows for stent expansion and also for new healthy vessel endothelial cells to grow through and around it, securing it in place. A DES differs from other types of stents in that...

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