What's under the hood.

Call me crazy, but from the minute I found out I had a stent put in I wanted to know what it looked like. I know, I know. As long as it works who cares right? Well if you had something poked in your body you'd want to take a peek to. The more I learn, the more impressed I become. Meet the Xience V drug eluting stent. It was approved by the FDA for use in July 2008 and just 13 months later one found it's way into my heart.

Can you believe something so tiny could save so many lives? Welcome to the world of modern medical innovation! This thing is groundbreaking. My stent is made medical grade cobalt chromium and is coated with a drug called everolimus. Everolimus seeps into my artery wall and keeps it from growing over the stent. But how does it get there? You're sedated but awake for the surgery. Jeez. Be careful what you ask for. I got knocked into next Tuesday by that sedation while Bill Clinton didn't get any. Anyway, moving on.

An incision is made in your femoral artery at the inside of your upper left thigh. Yes ladies, that's a polite way to say bikini line. All I can say is take comfort in the fact that 9 months later my scar is gone. A catheter is threaded up into your heart from the hole in your leg and guided up to the blockage in your heart. Once it's reached, they inflate a balloon with the stent around it. The balloon deflates and leaves the stent behind.

This is a pretty good picture of the catheter and stent. Pretty nifty huh? You can really see how the stent acts as a support beam for your artery and holds it open.

So there you go! That is the ultra short, ultra fast definition of a stent. Frankly, I'm very, very, grateful that such a thing was available at a time when I needed it. This kind of medical advancement directly stands on the shoulders of balloon angioplasty without stents and bypass surgeries. How do I feel about being given something only a year old? Willing. My life is prolonged and better because of this little guy. It only seems fair to have someone stand on my shoulders now and learn more. Now that's a trade off I can live with!