Metallic stents in interventional paediatric cardiology

In the last 8 years, stents have been used with increasing frequency in con genital heart disease. They have been used in branch pulmonary artery steno sis, whether naturally occurring or post-surgical, native coarctation and a ortic recoarctation after previous surgery and systemic venous stenoses, wh ich usually occur after surgery. In all these indications, stents produce a more predictable dilation, preventing vessel recoil. However, longer follo w-up studies are required to determine if they are likely to cause future p roblems of management, such as development of stenosis within the stent due to intimal proliferation.