Over the past 15 years, a multitude of new transluminal techniques have been developed, all designed to broaden the range of indications and improve the results of angioplasty. Among these, the implantation of intravascular stents has emerged as the technique with the greatest promise. It has become clear that stenting not only successfully deals with the problem of abrupt closure after angioplasty, but also reduces the incidence of restenosis, the Achilles heel of angioplasty. The reason why restenosis is reduced may be because the immediate gain of luminal diameter is greater with stenting...