Bare-metal stent

Bare-metal stent is a stent without a coating or covering (as used in covered stents drug-eluting stents). It is a mesh-like tube of thin wire. The first stents licensed for use in cardiac arteries were bare metal – often 316L stainless steel. More recent ('2nd generation') stents use cobalt chromium alloy. The first stents used in gastrointestinal conditions of the esophagus, gastroduodenum, biliary ducts, and colon were plastic; bare metal stents were first brought into the clinic in the 1990s. Bare-metal stent is a stent without a coating or covering (as used in covered stents drug-eluting stents). It is a mesh-like tube of thin wire. The first stents licensed for use in cardiac arteries were bare metal – often 316L stainless steel. More recent ('2nd generation') stents use cobalt chromium alloy. The first stents used in gastrointestinal conditions of the esophagus, gastroduodenum, biliary ducts, and colon were plastic; bare metal stents were first brought into the clinic in the 1990s. Drug-eluting stents are often preferred over bare-metal stents because the latter carry a higher risk of restenosis, the growth of tissue into the stent resulting in vessel narrowing.