Current status of the Strecker stent.

Knitted flexible tantalum stents proved to be a valuable adjunct to percutaneous transluminal angiplasty (PTA) in the case of insufficient PTA results, and their use was established in the distal aorta, the iliac, the femoro-popliteal, the renal, and the coronary arteries. Recently, long arterial occlusions were defined as new indications for primary stenting; stent indications were further extended to the subclavian, the carotid, and the splanchnic arteries. Due to higher incidence of acute and late complications after stent treatment of small diameter arteries, patients have to be selected thoroughly. Newly designed drug-releasing stents tested in animal experiments promised to be suitable to diminish the incidence of late restenosis due to intinal hyperplasia, thus providing better long-term patency.