Device used to maintain a bodily orifice or cavity during skin grafting, or to immobilize a skin graft after placement. Slender thread, rod, or catheter, lying within the space in the interior of a tubular structure, such as an artery or the intestine. Used to provide support during or after opening surgically, or to assure the opening of an intact but contracted lumen.
A stent is a small mesh tube that’s used to treat narrowed or weakened arteries in the body. A stent may be placed in an artery as part of a procedure called angioplasty. Angioplasty can restore blood flow through narrowed or blocked arteries. Stents help prevent arteries from becoming narrowed or blocked again in the months or years after treatment with angioplasty. A stent may also be placed in a weakened artery to improve blood flow and to help prevent the artery from bursting.
Stents are usually made of metal mesh, but sometimes they’re made of fabric. Fabric stents, also called stent grafts, are used in larger arteries. Some stents are coated with medicines that are slowly and continuously released into the artery. These medicines help prevent the artery from becoming blocked again.