A stent is a small, wire tube that is surgically placed in a passageway that has been damaged or blocked in order to increase the flow of blood or other fluids and to prevent serious complications from arising. There are many types of stents that can be used for different purposes and to treat different conditions. Here are some of the most common types of stents and how they are used.
Coronary Stents
Coronary arteries are the arteries that supply blood to your heart. If these arteries become damaged or blocked, it could lead to serious complications, such as heart attack or stroke. If this happens, the first line of treatment is usually to place a heart stent in the blocked or damaged artery to increase blood flow and prevent a blood clot from occurring. There are two different types of coronary stents that can be used:
- Drug-eluting stent: These stents are coated with medications to prevent inflammation in the artery.
- Bare-metal stent: These stents are mesh-like and do not have medications embedded in them.
Peripheral Vascular Stents
These stents work the same as coronary stents. The only difference is that they are used on blood vessels that are not connected to the heart.
Urinary Stents
Your ureter is the long tube that carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder, where it is stored until the bladder is emptied. Urinary stones can sometimes form in the ureter, which can obstruct the flow of urine from the kidneys and cause damage to them. These types of stents are used to hold the ureter open and allow urine to pass through as a temporary measure until surgery can be performed to remove the stone.
Urethral and Prostatic Stents
When a man’s prostate is enlarged, it can push against the urethra and prevent urine from flowing normally. This type of stent is used to help keep the urethra open so that urine is able to flow from the bladder out of the body.
Stent Grafts
Stent grafts are tubular devices that are made of special fabrics and are supported by rigid metal stents. This type of stent is primarily used for vascular surgeries. The most common use for stent grafts is to reinforce a weak spot in an artery, known as an aneurysm, which can be deadly if not treated quickly.
Other Stents
There are other types of stents that are less commonly used. For example, sometimes stents are used to keep the esophagus open in order to prevent esophageal constriction. Esophageal constriction can occur for many different reasons, but the most common is benign stricture, which is caused by esophagitis or gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Another condition that can be treated using a stent is bile duct stricture. To treat this, a billary stent is inserted into the bile duct to relieve narrowing in the duct and maintain adequate drainage of bile into the intestines.
