Mark & Associates, P.C. Attorneys At Law

Angioplasty & Restenosis

Angioplasty

In angioplasty surgery, a tube is pushed through a blood vessel in the groin to the place of blockage in a heart artery.  A balloon is inflated to open up the closure.  Then a stent is inserted to hold the artery open.  Estimates put the number of people who underwent angioplasty in 2003 at over 652,000, a huge increase due to the introduction of drug coated stents and their alleged ability to eliminate scar tissue and the need for repeat surgery. 

Restenosis

Restenosis refers to occlusion of the artery after the stent is implanted due to scar tissue forming and re-blocking the artery. 

• Subacute thrombosis is one type of restenosis that occurs soon after the stent device is implanted.  In subacute thrombosis, the stent or the operation causes the formation of new platelets inside the stent and hence blood clotting and blockage.  It occurs within days of the surgery and is usually treated with drugs like Plavix and aspirin.  
• Another type of restenosis involves new cell growth inside the stent and takes longer to develop.  Drug coated stents such as Johnson & Johnson’s Cypher Stent and the Boston Scientific Taxus Express Stent were developed specifically to treat this type of restenosis.

Once stents are implanted, it is very difficult and risky to remove them.  Long term anticoagulant treatment with drugs like Plavix is not an option for many people due to the risk of bleeding and stroke.  Requiring coated stent patients to take Plavix for extended periods puts them at risk of a clot if they have to stop Plavix before another type of surgery.