Intracoronary stents can lower restenosis by about 15 percent. However, many more patients will require brachytherapy before it is approved by the FDA as an alternative to stenting and traditional angioplasty . Within 6 months, the arteries close up again because of scarring at the site of the surgery. While patients who have tiny mesh wire stents inserted during angioplasty have a lower rate of reclogging or restenosis, still about 15 to 30 percent of them experience restenosis. To solve the problem of restenosis, researchers are experimenting with a new surgical technique.
First doctors perform the standard angioplasty and also insert stents to help keep the artery open.
Then, as part of the new procedure called brachytherapy, they leave a dose of iridium-192, a radioactive substance, at the site for 15 to 30 minutes. It kills the cells that would most likely divide and block the artery. In a trial run of this technique, researchers at the Scripps Clinic in California, found that only 4 of 26 patients had restenosis after six months, compared to over half of the 29 patients who did not receive the radiation. Now 12 centers, including the Texas Heart Institute and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center will be using brachytherapy in a trial study nationwide. All rights reserved.