HealthCareMagic is now Ask A Doctor - 24x7 | https://www.askadoctor24x7.com

Diabetic. Undergone Angiography And Doctor Suggested 3 Stents. Safe? Calcium Deposits In All The Arteries?

Posted on Thu, 20 Jun 2013

Question: Hello Doctor,

My mother was admitted to a hospital yesterday to undergo Angiography follwed by an Angioplasty if required. I am sending the angiography report in a separate email to healthcaremagic's mail ID.

After rreviewing the angiography report, doctors advised us three stents. Once the angioplasty procedure started it took almost 2 hours to get completed. Once the doctor finished he informed us that he was able to insert only one stent today as the artery in which he was inserting the stent was complicated. There was calcium deposit in the artery which was hard to break according to them. Now the doctors are saying that they would insert the rest of the stents today or tomorrow.

My questions -

1. Is it safe to have three stents? We were under thr impression that the doctors would insert just one stent.
2.Is it safe to have two angioplasties within just one day gap?
3.The calcium deposits in first artery could also be present in the second and third arteries? Would that be complicated as well?

Thank you,
XXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Anantharamakrishnan (3 hours later)

Dear Mr XXXXXX,
Welcome to Health Care Magic

1- Yes, it is safe to have 3 stents / even more...
Your mother may even need more! / May be 5 – there are significant blocks in the report..

2- Yes, it is safe to do angioplasty next day / even in the same day...
Delay entails risk / she may even need CABG – Coronary Artery Bypass Grafts (surgery)...if the procedure is not feasible...

3- Calcium deposits could also be present in other arteries...
It is not always a problem / does not always mean a complicated procedure – it depends on the extent and severity / Things will be obvious only during the procedure

Take care
Wishing speedy recovery
God bless
Good luck

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Anantharamakrishnan (3 hours later)

Thanks doctor,

Upon your suggestion I checked with our doctor once again on the number of stents to be inserted. He mentioned that yesterday, two stents were inserted in one artery - Left Circumflex and now they are gong to insert two more stents in RCA.

My questions -

1. Since the doctor said that he inserted two stents in Left Circumflex to clear the calcification. We were wondering how can two stents be used to clear calcium in just one artery?
2. The two stents that have been used were American stents. Now since the cost of the American stents is high, the doctor asked us if we would be able to manage with two more American stents. Rather he suggested that we use two Indian stents. What is the difference between an Indian stent and an American stent? And can they co-exist? Two Indian stents and two American stents?

Thanks,

XXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Anantharamakrishnan (2 hours later)

Hi

1- That is because the same artery is blocked in two different places – the main artery (Circumflex) and its major branch (Obtuse marginal). If only one block is cleared, the other will still be causing obstruction to flow in its area of distribution. So both must be tackled...

The same issue is there with other two arteries also - LAD and RCA > there are 2 obstructions in each – proximal (near) and distal (far)...a long stent or 2 stents will be necessary, for both of them...

2- Technically, there is no qualitative difference between the two – Indian ones are cheaper because of reduced labour cost, transport, tax and other issues...
Of course, they can co-exist in the same patient / even in the same artery...there is no problem from that aspect...

All the best

Note: For further queries related to coronary artery disease and prevention, click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar