Using vascular closure devices outside the operating room: No reason for homesickness!

摘要

Vascular closure devices represent a mainstay in the management of femoral arteriot-omy, given their ease of use, favorable risk-benefit profile, and significant benefits in terms of patient comfort, early ambulation, and time savings for personnel in comparison to standard manual compression. Despite the availability of other access sites and non-implantable devices for femoral hemosta-sis, ongoing refinements in products and techniques have recently further improved the clinical performance of vascular closure devices. This is also supported by the safe use of such devices in patently off-label indications, such as brachial, carotid, popliteal, or stented femoral arteries. Yet, it is common sense to deploy a vascular closure device in the protected and well equipped setting of the angiosuite or operating room (OR), after carefully checking vessel anatomy and the needle entry point.