"Angioplasty and angioplasty with vascular stenting are minimally invasive procedures performed to improve blood flow in the body's arteries.

In the angioplasty procedure, imaging techniques are used to guide a balloon-tipped catheter, a long, thin plastic tube, into an artery and advance it to where the vessel is narrow or blocked. The balloon is then inflated to open the vessel, deflated and removed.

In vascular stenting, which is often performed with angioplasty, a small wire mesh tube called a stent is permanently placed in the newly opened artery to help it remain open. There are two types of stents: bare stents (wire mesh) and covered stents (with an additional artificial wall)."

Source:  RadiologyInfo - ©Radiological Society of North America, Inc. (RSNA)

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