What is the difference between a stent and a bypass?

Stent v bypass: A stent procedure usually starts with a needle stick and requires no knives (incisions) while i bypass requires a knife and open exposure of the vessel above the blockage and open exposure of the target vessel beyond the blockage.

Very different: Both may be used for types of coronary disease and blockage. Stents are small intraluminal devices placed by cardiologists for the heart problem, or by vascular surgeons/interventionalists, depending on the location of the obstruction. Bypass using natural grafts ( internal thoracic artery or saphenous vein for the heart or dacron or teflon grafts for larger vessels , is a detour around the block.

Surgery: A coronary stent is placed by a cardiologist during an angiocardiography procedure. The stent is made of stainless steel and will remain in your body for the rest of your life. A bypass is a surgery where a vein from your leg or an artery from your arm or inside your chest is used to create a new blood supply to your heart. Both help to give more blood to your heart.

See details: A stent is a small tube inserted in a blocked area of an artery to keep that segment open. A bypass is a piece of vein sown into the vessel that bypasses the area of narrowing.