Member News Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 11, 2009

Angio-Seal Evolution Vascular Closure Device Being Used at Memorial Hospital

Memorial Hospital is one of the first hospitals in the metropolitan area to use the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Angio-Seal Evolution, a vascular closure device designed to enable physicians to quickly and effectively seal femoral artery punctures made during minimally invasive catheter-based procedures, such as a cardiac catheterization. The ability to effectively seal the puncture helps stop the bleeding quickly, enabling the patient to walk within one to two hours and resume activities sooner.

"I had the opportunity to use this closure device on a very obese patient - it worked very well," said Omar Almousalli, M.D., a cardiologist on Memorial’s Medical Staff. Using the closure traditional method, the patient would have had to lie still and have pressure applied to the insertion site for several hours. "In the same day, I used it on a very thin patient and it held very well. Both patients could get up and walk in less than two hours."

More than 13 million catheterizations are performed worldwide each year to open narrowed or blocked arteries and perform other cardiovascular procedures. During catheterizations, physicians insert a thin tube (catheter) through a puncture made in the femoral artery in the upper thigh and guide it through the blood vessels to the point of care. Treatments such as balloons, stents and medications are then delivered through this catheter. Once the procedure is complete and the catheter removed, bleeding from the puncture in the femoral artery must be stopped quickly.

Prior to Angio-Seal, 15 to 30 minutes of manual pressure was applied to the catheter’s access site in the patient’s leg, followed by four to 12 hours of bed rest to ensure that the bleeding had stopped. Most patients treated with Angio-Seal devices report significantly less discomfort after a catheterization and are able to resume normal activities quicker.

Memorial Hospital performs over 2,300 procedures annually in its technologically-advanced cardiac cath and vascular lab.