Then a hot-dog shaped balloon is advanced through the catheter to the blockage. Here it s inflated, pushing plaque aside and opening the artery. There was no method to keep newly opened arteries from collapsing if they were predisposed to do so. Tiny wire-mesh tubes called stents are threaded to the site of the blockage using balloon angioplasty. Then they re expanded and locked into place, forming a framework that holds the artery open.
Some stents penetrate the plaque, while others compress it.
Open-chest surgery was necessary to access clogged arteries. When stents or angioplasty aren t appropriate, doctors may use lasers and tiny rotating or stationary blades to destroy the plaque blocking an artery. An angiojet a tool that uses pressure to destroy clots may also be used. All is done through a needle puncture in the groin.