Why have stents replaced balloons? Underwhelming evidence

In their meta-analysis in this issue, Brophy and colleagues measured the added benefit of routinely stenting each lesion treated with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) rather than using stents only for complications or unsatisfactory results of PTCA (provisional stenting). Rates of death and myocardial infarction for the two strategies did not differ substantially. The clinical trials results don't help much in choosing between routine stenting or provisional stenting for an individual lesion, which emphasizes the role of the clinical judgment of a highly experienced physician.