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firm silicone stents similar to silicone rubber of spatula?

Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 3:14 pm
by miri
Isn't silicone more human-friendly than metal?
So, since I myself probably have atherosclerotic (plaque) causing peripheral arterial disease...
(here's a demo:

i got to thinking:
  • on the one hand, there's the metal scaffolding, which seems like it might be painful.
  • on the other hand, there's these floppy balloons of angioplasty, which are then removed.
So there's no such thing as firm, silicone scaffold-stents, such as the silicone of spatula's?

Re: firm silicone stents similar to silicone rubber of spatu

Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2013 1:29 am
by NHE
miri wrote:So there's no such thing as firm, silicone scaffold-stents, such as the silicone of spatula's?
For a stent to be inserted into an artery or a vein, it must be expandable. There are self expanding stents and balloon expandable stents. The stent is inserted through the vasculature via a catheter in a contracted state and then expanded at the site of stenosis. I'm not sure if a silicone stent could meet these requirements. It's a good question for Dr. Sclafani. Moreover, I believe that you would still have the problem of having a foreign object in the vein or artery which would increase the likelyhood of clots.

Re: firm silicone stents similar to silicone rubber of spatu

Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2013 8:09 pm
by miri
OK, probably silicone isn't feasible.
I wonder why they can't do laser for atherosclerosis causing Peripheral Artherial Disease
...just like they do laser for kidney stones? See:


I know they do laser for varicose veins, but I think it's just for cosmetic reasons, whereas I have excruciating pain in veins on upper part of foot, and in arch (as in tarsal tunnel syndrome.