Stent — Procedure Guide, Recovery & Risks | MyMedicPlus

A stent is a small expandable mesh tube made of metal (stainless steel or nitinol) or polymer, deployed inside a narrowed or blocked vessel, duct, or lumen to restore flow. Types include coronary drug-eluting stents (DES), biliary self-expanding metal stents (SEMS), ureteral stents (DJ stents), esophageal stents, and carotid stents.

Coronary DES treats atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (acute MI and stable angina). Biliary SEMS relieves malignant or benign biliary obstruction. Ureteral DJ stents bypass ureteral obstruction from stones, stricture, or tumor. Esophageal stents palliate malignant dysphagia. Carotid stents treat symptomatic carotid stenosis in high surgical risk patients.

Coronary: radial or femoral arterial access; guidewire crossed the lesion; balloon pre-dilatation; DES deployed at 8-16 atm; post-dilated; confirmed by IVUS or OCT. Biliary/esophageal: endoscope advanced; guidewire passed through obstruction; SEMS advanced over wire and self-expands. Ureteral DJ: cystoscopy; guidewire to kidney; stent placed over wire under fluoroscopy.

Coronary stenting: 24-hour observation; dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin plus ticagrelor or clopidogrel for 6-12 months (DES). Biliary SEMS: same-day or next-day discharge; patency monitored by liver function tests. Ureteral DJ stents are removed at 4-6 weeks cystoscopically; retained beyond this causes encrustation and infection.

Coronary DES: in-stent restenosis (5-10% at 1 year), stent thrombosis (acute <24h, subacute 1-30d, late) in under 1% if DAPT maintained, and access site haematoma. Biliary SEMS: stent migration (5%), tumour ingrowth causing re-obstruction at 6-12 months. Ureteral DJ: urinary frequency, haematuria, encrustation, infection, and migration.

Coronary DES reduces target-vessel revascularization to below 5% at 1 year versus 20-30% with bare-metal stents. Biliary SEMS achieves jaundice relief in over 90% of cases; median patency 6-12 months. Ureteral stents relieve obstruction in over 95% of cases; stone clearance rates are not affected by the stent alone.