Little data on stent’s most common use

From 2003 through 2006, more than one million patients suffering from clogged arteries and veins received stents in their torsos and legs that had undergone scant testing for such uses, according to a device safety specialist at Harvard Medical School. Reports to the Food and Drug Administration of problems with the devices suggest that their off-label use in arteries is injuring hundreds and perhaps thousands of patients, the specialist says.