Doctors Sound an Alarm Over Leg-Stent Surgery

Now that unnecessary heart stent procedures happen significantly less often, doctors are flagging a new area of concern: unnecessary leg stents

Johns Hopkins researchers analyzing Medicare data say they’ve detected physicians performing what look like unnecessary vascular procedures.

Some physicians are stenting leg arteries and removing plaque at alarming rates, these doctors say. The often-avoidable procedures could put patients at risk of complications and worsening disease.