FUTURE USES OF STENTS

Stents are used in pediatric cardiology for a large variety of indicat ions, but most often to enlarge stenotic vessels resulting in a define d diameter, as the elastic recoil of currently used stents is minimal. Experimentally, stents are used as a carrier for the implantation of valves or vessels, investigative is the use of stents as an occlusive device. Several novel indications have evolved for stents in pediatric cardiology: stenting of aortopulmonary collateral arteries, stenting of the ductus arteriosus in duct dependent congenital heart disease, s tenting of the right ventricular outflow tract, and the use of stents to perform interventional completion of univentricular circulation.