Drug-coated Stents Find New Places to Help

The introduction of drug-coated, or drug-eluting, stents for the heart arteries was a major advance in the field of interventional cardiology and the treatment of patients with coronary blockages.

These stents dramatically reduced the incidence of in-stent restenosis in which scar tissue accumulates within the stent eventually causing a re-blockage of the treated area.

Now these stents are going to be used for blckages in the leg arteries as well, potentially a major advance in non-surgical treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD).

http://news.yahoo.com/fda-advisers-back-cook-stent-leg-arteries-002142384.html