Stent in a femoral artery. Angiogram of a stent in the left femoral artery of a 49-year-old patient. The femur (thigh bone) runs down right. The stent is the slightly wider region of the artery running down left. It is an expandable wire mesh used to treat stenosis (narrowing) of arteries, a condition caused by atheroma (fatty deposits on the inner wall). It is inserted into the artery by angioplasty, a procedure where the stent is delivered to the narrowed region and then expanded to open the artery, allowing normal blood flow.