Hello! I am Liu Jian
Today is the 300th issue that Jian Ge said to accompany you
Unconsciously, "Jian Ge Says The Heart" reached the 300th issue, we discussed a lot of disease management topics before, at the same time, we also noticed that the development of science and technology is changing with each passing day, and medicine is also constantly improving. Therefore, in the future, we will bring more emerging medical technologies and treatments that we hope will help you.
Everyone knows that heart stent surgery, in general, the stent put into the heart will accompany you for life, but, have you heard of the stent that "disappears"?
The bracket that will disappear is born
At present, the commonly used stent in the clinic is a metal drug eluting stent, although this stent has greatly reduced the incidence of thrombosis in the stent and restenosis in the stent, but for the human body, the stent is a foreign body after all, long-term presence in the body, or may cause chronic inflammatory response and other issues, and the blood vessels have been supported by the stent, will become stiff, lose elasticity.
Therefore, scientists consider whether there can be a stent that provides support for blood vessels in the early stage of unclogging blood vessel blockages, and can "disappear" after the blood vessels are restored and unblocked?
Now, that vision is a reality — a scaffold that will "disappear" has emerged.
Stents that will "disappear" refer to stents that are gradually degraded after being implanted for a period of time and are completely absorbed by human tissues, which is called "bioresorbable stents", also known as "biodegradable stents".
Why do stents disappear
The reason why the bracket disappeared is not that David Copperfield is doing magic, but by its material.
At present, the material of the bioresorbable stent listed in China is polylactic acid, which may be very unfamiliar to you, but I believe that you must have experienced a sore feeling after strenuous exercise, and this soreness is caused by the accumulation of lactic acid. Polylactic acid is a polymer material formed by the dehydration and polymerization of hydroxyl and carboxyl groups in lactic acid, so that it has mechanical properties, and is non-toxic to the human body, does not repel, is easy to degrade, and is easy to discharge, so it can be used as a skeleton structural material for heart stents. Polylactic acid has been used safely in clinical practice as a medically absorbable suture.
After the bioresorbable scaffold is implanted in the human body, polylactic acid will slowly degrade into lactic acid, and finally metabolized into water and carbon dioxide will eventually be completely excreted from the body, so the stent will "disappear".
Does the stent still work when it disappears?
Some people may wonder, the stent is to open the blood vessels, if the stent disappears, will the blood vessels be narrowed again?
You don't have to worry about this problem, the study found that within 3 months of implantation of bioresorbable stents, drugs that inhibit excessive proliferation of the intima will be released, and within 1 year, the blood vessels can play a supporting role to avoid acute retraction of blood vessels and restenosis caused by excessive proliferation of the intima [1]; after 1 year of implantation, the bioresorbable stent gradually degrades, at the same time, the blood vessels through self-repair, expand the vascular cavity, no longer need the stent to provide support; in about 3 years of implantation, the bioresorbable stent is completely degraded and absorbed by the human body. Without leaving a metal foreign body, the structure and function of the blood vessels are restored to their natural state.
Implantable bioresorbable stent vascular repair process
Therefore, the bioresorbable stent is suitable for some patients who do not want to leave a foreign body in the body, are relatively young, and the hardness of the lesion vascular plaque is not high. Of course, even if a bioresorbable stent is implanted, it is still necessary to adhere to medication and a healthy lifestyle, especially in the first 12 months after the stent is implanted, and dual antiplatelet drug therapy is also required.
Brother Jian said
Bioabsorbable stents, due to the particularity of their materials, within 1 year of implantation, can support the diseased blood vessels, after which the diseased blood vessels gradually repair themselves, while the bioresorbable stents gradually degrade, completely degrade and absorbed by the human body in about 3 years, and the blood vessels restore their natural structure;
After implantation of a bioresorbable stent, it is also necessary to take a dual antiplatelet drug therapy for at least 12 months, followed by adherence to medication and a healthy lifestyle to prevent recurrence of cardiovascular disease.
Today's content is finished, and the next issue is more exciting.
Heart health knowledge is in "Jian Ge Says Heart"
We'll see you next time.
"On the Heart" - Medicine, Health and Lifestyle of the Heart
Works by Professor Liu Jian