Peripheral Arterial Stenting and Atherectomy
If there are severe blockages in the legs, arm, kidneys, or other vessels associated
with symptoms, percutaneous intervention is considered. While blockages in the heart are usually treated with stents,
blockages in the peripheral vessels often are treated with balloons without stents, or with atherectomy. Stents
may be necessary in some cases, and are similar to stents used inside the heart arteries. Rotablator, or drilling, may
be used as well. Balloons are inflated to push cholesterol out of the artery, and then are deflated and removed.
Stents are flexible metallic structures, somewhat similar to the spring inside a ball-point pen. They are placed inside
an artery, and act as scaffolding to help maintain that artery open for longer time periods. Atherectomy uses a small cutting
device to scrape the cholesterol out of the artery.
