Emerging Role of Endovascular Brachytherapy in Arterial Restenosis

Opening of the article

Angioplasty and stenting are highly effective modalities for the treatment of occlusive arterial disease yielding excellent immediate results. However, a restenosis rate of 20% to 40% remains a cause for dissatisfaction. In an attempt to bring down the restenosis rate, radiation has been tried in different ways using external as well as endovascular radiation. Various beta and gamma emitters such as 192 Ir, 32P, 99P and 188Re have been tried using different techniques such as remote afterloading HDR, manual remote afterloading, radioactive stents and radioactive liquid Rhenium filled balloons.