A practical and rapid method of histological processing for examination of coronary arteries containing metallic stents

A practical and rapid method was developed to study vascular pathology after implantation of metal endoprostheses (stents) that are used as internal splinting devices of tube-like structures. This method obviates the need for time-consuming grinding of thick sawing sections or removal of the prosthesis prior to histological processing, allowing for detailed analysis of the tissue in general, but especially of the stent-tissue interface. The vessels, with the metal stents still in place, were dehydrated in graded series of ethanol and embedded in methyl methacrylate. Using a motor-driven rotary microtome, 3- to 5-μm sections were easily cut. After deplastination, routine and special histological stainings were performed according to standard protocols for paraffin sections. This method proved to save time, compared with sawing sections, while allowing for a more complete examination of the stenttissue interface than is possible with routine paraffin techniques.