Q: My 52 years old father needs to have a stent for angioplasty. The cardiologist has told us that the stent would cost for Rs. 15,000. Can we go for a low priced stent now and replace it with a good one later?

A:I am not aware of any stent costing Rs.15000. Stents are essentially of two kinds- the first one is a coated stent and the price for the drug eluting stent is Rs.80000 – Rs.1.0 lacs per stent. The cost of the uncoated or the bare metal stent is in the range of approximately Rs.30000 + Rs.5000. Regarding your second query, it is not possible to put a low cost stent now and replace it with a good stent later. I think, the first opportunity is the best opportunity and you should have the best stent, which decision can be taken for you by your treating cardiologist.