Cardiac stent is one of the effective means of treating coronary heart disease, but people have different views on stent, some are doubtful, some are afraid, and some even reject it. In order to let our people better understand stent surgery, we would like to make a short summary of the frequently asked questions in the clinic.
1.Does stent surgery require an operation?
Stent surgery does not require an incision and is a minimally invasive procedure. The route of stent placement is usually the radial artery in the upper extremity or the femoral artery in the lower extremity, which is less invasive.
2. Can the stent come off after successful surgery?
After successful placement of the stent, the stent will fit tightly with the vessel wall and will not fall off.
3.Does the stent have a shelf life? Do they need to be replaced regularly?
Stents have no shelf life and can be used for life and should not be replaced regularly. However, in a small number of patients, restenosis may occur in the stent after surgery, and treatment may be needed again.
4. Do all patients with coronary artery disease need stent treatment?
Of course not, it needs to be determined clinically. Some patients with stable angina do not need stenting, while patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction need stenting.
5.Can stenting cure coronary heart disease?
Coronary artery disease is a lifelong disease, and stenting is only one of the most effective ways to address coronary lumen stenosis, the most basic of active lifestyle improvement and conservative drug treatment. In other words, if coronary heart disease is diagnosed, it must be treated for life.
6.After stenting, can I have an MRI?
This question is slightly complicated. In fact, when MRI is performed, a high-intensity magnetic field is generated, which may affect the metal implants, such as stent displacement and burning of blood vessels. However, with the advancement of technology and improvement of stent materials, generally speaking, 1.5T MRI has little effect on the mainstream stents available in the market today, while 3.0T does not. Of course, it is important to consult your doctor before the MRI to avoid adverse events.
7.After stenting, can I do X-ray and CT examination?
No problem, there is no effect.
8.Will the stent be displaced?
Generally speaking, after the stent is successfully placed in the vessel wall, it will not be displaced. Even a sudden change of body position or coughing will not cause the stent to shift.
9.What kind of material is the stent made of?
The stents are made of metal, such as stainless steel in the early days and nickel and other alloys nowadays. Nowadays, dissolvable stents are under development (they can dissolve by themselves after being placed in the body, unlike metal stents which are always in the wall of blood vessels) and may become the mainstream material of stents in the future.
10.The stent is metal, can it puncture the blood vessel?
After stenting, the metal stent will fit closely with the blood vessel wall and will not pierce the blood vessel.
11.Is heart stent surgery a technology that has been eliminated abroad?
Of course not, for most patients with coronary heart disease, heart stent is still one of the effective means of treatment, and related surgeries are being actively carried out both at home and abroad.
12.Is the surgical ability of our doctors inferior to that of the experts in developed countries?
Of course not. Objectively speaking, some developed European and American countries have a certain degree of advancement in medical technology, scientific research and teaching, software construction, etc. However, in terms of cardiac interventional surgery, the technical ability of many experts in China has long since fully reached the international advanced level.
13.Cardiac stenting is one of the most expensive surgeries, some people say 100,000 yuan a stent, is it true?
Of course not. In the early days of cardiac stenting, the cost was indeed high, excluding the operation fee and other surgical materials, a single stent costs 30,000 to 40,000 yuan, and a surgery may cost more than 50,000 yuan. Nowadays, the cost of a single stent has been significantly reduced, for example, the cost of a commonly used domestic stent is only about 10,000 yuan, and the corresponding surgery cost is only about 30,000 yuan.
14. Since the cost of stent is fixed, why do some people spend 20,000 to 30,000 yuan while others spend 50,000 to 60,000 yuan for implanting a stent?
In cardiac interventional procedures, before and after stent placement, other devices besides stents are needed (to establish the stent implantation path and to assist in better fitting of the stent to the vessel wall), such as guidewires, catheters and balloons, and so on. Some patients may need only 1-2 balloons, while others may need more than 3 balloons and other auxiliary devices.
15.Is the heart stent covered by medical insurance?
Heart stents and other surgical devices are basically covered by medical insurance, and the reimbursement rates may not be exactly the same across the country. However, patients are advised to consult their local health insurance department for detailed reimbursement policies and ratios.