Balloon catheter
In medicine, balloon catheter is a name for catheters that are provided with a balloon. The balloon can be inflated with either compressed air or liquid.
Areas of application and variants
The shape of the balloon catheter depends on the respective application in the various medical fields:
- In angiology , narrowed or blocked blood vessels are widened with a balloon catheter, see angioplasty .
- In urology , urinary catheters are used to drain urine from the urinary bladder . Urinary catheters are equipped with a balloon that holds the catheter in the urethra when it is filled.
- In orthopedics , vertebral fractures can be treated with the balloon kyphoplasty procedure. After insertion into the fractured vertebra, the balloon is expanded to straighten the vertebra. An artificial bone cement is then poured into the resulting cavity , which stabilizes the vertebra.
- In pneumology , balloon catheters are used to either widen a bronchus or to temporarily close it during an operation (see bronchus blocker ).
- In gynecology balloon catheters are used, bleeding at a placenta accreta to reduce or mechanically a birth initiate .
Individual evidence
- ↑ DocCheck Flexikon balloon catheter