| While it is used in less than 20% of procedures in the United States and Europe, it is utilized in Japan in almost all angioplasty/stent procedures, because it is reimbursed in that country. Although it is an invasive procedure,
and
there are costs associated with it,
IVUS can aid significantly in the selection and sizing of stents
and can offer assurance that a stent has been properly deployed.
This is of great importance in the era of drug-eluting
stents. Research conducted using IVUS has also shown that one
of the causes of restenosis and thrombosis may be inadequate dilatation --
physicians, concerned with injuring or dissecting the
artery itself because of over-expansion, have tended to undersize the balloons and stents, leading to complications. (See "Can Using Intravascular
Ultrasound Prevent Stent Thrombosis") |
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