Non-Surgical Treatment of Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)

Stent Implantation

A stent is a small, latticed metal scaffold that is introduced into your blood vessel on a balloon catheter. During the procedure, the patient has a catheter placed in an artery. The patient is awake and may feel a warm, flushed feeling when dye is injected. The doctor maneuvers the catheter into the blocked artery and inflates the balloon. The stent expands against the vessel wall as the balloon is inflated. Once the balloon has been deflated and withdrawn, the stent stays in place permanently, holding the blood vessel open and improving blood flow.

Atherectomy

Atherectomy is a procedure for opening up an artery by removing the plaque (atheroma) produced by the build-up of cholesterol and other fatty substances in the inner lining of the artery from atherosclerosis ("hardening of the arteries").

There are several different atherectomy procedures including:

Laser
Diamondback Procedure
Foxhollow Silverhawk
Pathway Jetstream