Renal Artery Stenting : Curehealth

Renal Artery Stenting

Renal Artery Stenting is done during angioplasty, in which inserting a small catheter in the diseased renal artery is involved.

Some facts about Renal Artery Stenting:

The procedure to open the renal arteries when they have become blocked due to renal artery stenosis (narrowing of the renal artery) is known as Renal artery stenting.
Renal arteries are the large blood vessels that carry blood to the kidneys.
Blood flow to the kidneys is affected when a renal artery is clogged.
The blockage can be opened and normal blood flow can be restored with stenting.
An angioplasty catheter has a balloon on its end in order to dilate or inflate the narrowed area.
Angioplasty is performed through small incisions rather than by cutting the body open as it is a minimally invasive procedure.
Angioplasty is done in a catheterization laboratory, which is equipped with special X-ray and imaging machines.
Another stenting procedure may be needed to unblock the artery again in some cases.
Bruising where the catheter was inserted, Bleeding in or around the insertion site, Damage to the artery, Blood clots, Allergic reaction to the dye used during the procedure, Stent misplacement, Kidney failure are some of the risks of renal artery stenting.
Renal artery stenosis does not get cured by the angioplasty and stenting procedure in most cases.
However, it can slow down the progress.
Many patients with renovascular hypertension may have to continue taking blood pressure medicine.
A type of high blood pressure called renovascular hypertension may develop when hen the blood cannot get to the kidneys due to blockage.

You will receive medication to help you relax before the procedure.
A contrast dye will also be given that makes your arteries easier to see on the imaging equipment.
You may feel some discomfort during the procedure, but generally it is not painful.
An Angiography, Magnetic resonance angiography, Computed tomography angiography or Duplex Doppler ultrasonography can be done to see if you need renal artery stenting.

A flexible hollow tube called catheter is inserted through a tiny incision, or opening, in your groin.
The doctor carefully guides the catheter to the narrow part of your renal artery using the imaging equipment.
A guide wire is then placed with a balloon on its tip through the catheter to the spot in the artery and inflates the balloon to open the blockage.
The stent, which is a fine mesh tube, is then pressed into the artery wall and is left in the artery to keep it open to maintain blood flow.
A blood thinning medicine may be required to taken by you after the procedure to help your blood flow properly until the area around the stent heals, and to prevent blood clots.
New blockages may develop sometimes in a different area of the renal artery.
It is important that you see your doctor for all follow-up appointments as an artery can narrow again which is a condition called restenosis.