'The rate of implanting carotid stents in the United States increased six times over between 1998 and 2007, an editorial in the Archives of Internal Medicine, to be published 15 November, will point out. This massive increase occurred in the face of no evidence of benefit. People without symptoms make up the bulk of those receiving these implants.
People who have no demonstrable need are undergoing surgery for carotid stents—and the procedure is killing and disabling thousands.
The number of Medicare beneficiaries is over 45 million. The rate of carotid stent implantation is .6 per 1,000. Approximately 2,700,000 Medicare beneficiaries are being given a surgical procedure with no demonstrable benefit every year. But the story is far worse than that.'
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