What Are Wingspan Stents Used For?

Wingspan stents are small metal devices that are used to open clogged arteries in a patient's brain. These devices are self-expanding and better suited for use in small brain arteries than other types of stents.

Wingspan Stent

• According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, a Wingspan stent is a small metal scaffold that presses plaque to one side of a brain artery, helps hold the artery open and allows blood to flow through the blood vessel.

Clogged Brain Arteries

• Patients with brain arteries that are clogged with plaque have an increased risk of developing a stroke that is disabling and can result in death.

Use Reasons

• Doctors may use the Wingspan stent as an option for treating clogged brain arteries in patients who do not receive adequate help from drug treatment.

Procedure

• A physician will insert a catheter into an upper leg artery and use digital X-ray images to navigate to a blocked artery in the brain. An angioplasty balloon is used to push away plaque, deploy the Wingspan stent and hold the blood vessel open.

Other Stents

• Larger stents have been used in wider heart and neck arteries and are not suitable for use in the smaller arteries of the brain. Wingspan stents are smaller and are better suited for curved and fragile brain arteries.