Drug eluted stent and percutaneous coronary intervention by :LAW JIA JUIN (with references)

   
     Angioplasty is the technique of mechanically widening a narrowed or obstructed blood vessel, the latter typically being a result of atherosclerosis. An empty and collapsed balloon on a guide wire, known as a balloon catheter, is passed into the narrowed locations and then inflated to a fixed size using water pressures some 75 to 500 times normal blood pressure (6 to 20 atmospheres). The balloon crushes the fatty deposits, opening up the blood vessel for improved flow, and the balloon is then deflated and withdrawn. In surgery is known as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).It is one therapeutic procedure used to treat the stenotic (narrowed) coronary arteries of the heart found in coronary heart disease.(besides Coronary Artery Bypass Graffing CABG) These stenotic segments are due to the build up of cholesterol-laden plaques that form due to atherosclerosis. PCI is usually performed by an interventional cardiologist, though was developed and originally performed by interventional radiologists. Besides the balloon ,in PCI a scaffold known as stent is also used to support the vessel for opening and reduce the risk of reobstruction and reblockage .However the incidence of restenosis and rebuild of cholesterol deposit on the same site of surgery supporting by stent are reported very frequently even though the patient is follow up with oral medication after the surgery.
 
     The good news is there is a new stent known as drug eluding stent is believed to reduce the risk of restenosis. Drug eluting stent (DES) is a peripheral or coronary stent (a scaffold) placed into narrowed, diseased peripheral or coronary arteries that slowly releases a drug to block cell proliferation. This prevents fibrosis that, together with clots (thrombus), could otherwise block the stented artery, a process called restenosis. The drugs coated can be thrombolytic agents or anticlotting drugs. The stent is usually placed within the peripheral or coronary artery by an Interventional cardiologist or Interventional Radiologist during an angioplasty procedure.



REFERENCES: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug-eluting_stent