Stents

I wrote about heart surgery not long ago. The issue was whether health authorities should be restricting access to the use of stents in treating clogged and weakened arteries.

It used to be that doctors treated abdominal artery problems by cutting open the patient's chest and using a plastic tube to patch weak points.

Stents are newish. Instead of prying open your chest, surgeons make a small slit in your groin, slide the stents up into the right place and then use a balloon to expand the little metal mesh tube. The artery is kept open. Drugs built into the stent keep the cells from growing back around.

Is it worth the big money? Read this, a link from a knowledgeable reader