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BrachytherapyBrachytherapy is used in cardiac care to reopen coronary arteries that have become blocked after angioplasty. Coronary arteries, which carry oxygen-rich blood to the heart, may become blocked or narrowed by a build-up of cholesterol, plaque or other fatty deposits. Angioplasty involves inserting a balloon-like device to open a blocked artery and then removing plaque in the area. Finally a scaffold-like coronary stent may be inserted to help prevent restenosis, or re-narrowing of the artery. However, sometimes restenosis still occurs, often from scar tissue that forms where the stent is placed. In this case, brachytherapy may help clear the blocked artery again. A thin flexible tube called a "catheter" is inserted into the clogged artery, usually through the groin/upper thigh artery, and threaded up to the stent. Scar tissue there is pushed aside with a balloon inserted through the catheter to create a new opening. Then a radioactive substance is placed in the catheter and allowed to sit inside the stent area for a few minutes to kill scar tissue and clear the artery. Coated stents, which are pre-treated with a substance to prevent restenosis, hold promise for the future and may make brachytherapy unnecessary. [ Previous page ] |
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