Outpatient angioplasty and stenting facilitated by percutaneous arterial suture closure devices

Aim To review our practice of outpatient percutaneous vascular interventions facilitated by an arterial suture device. Materials and methods A retrospective review of all patients attending this tertiary centre for iliac or femoral intervention was undertaken between February 2001 and December 2004. All patients who underwent angioplasty or stenting had their puncture sites closed using a Perclose suture. Patients were kept flat for 15 min and allowed to fully mobilize at 60 min. Puncture sites were scored for visible bruising, haematoma and pain at discharge and on outpatient follow-up. Patient preference for future outpatient treatment was assessed. Results Fifty-seven outpatients underwent 81 punctures. Forty-eight (84%) patients underwent iliac angioplasty; of those 42% underwent stent placement. Six patients (10%) required inpatient admission, five secondary to failed suture deployment. One patient had a non-closer-related puncture site intimal flap occlusion successfully repaired at surgery. Fifty-one (90%) patients discharged with a mean time of 157 min (60–280 min). Forty-six (92%) patients had no visible bruising or palpable haematoma on discharge. No patient had a haematoma greater than 2.5 cm. No discharged patient required readmission. Thirty percent reported a moderate to severe groin pain score (2–5/5) at discharge, increasing to 40% at follow-up. Forty-seven (98%) of the 48 patients, who expressed a preference, would be happy to undergo outpatient treatment again. Conclusion Outpatient treatment is feasible, well tolerated and preferable to patients, but 10% will require inpatient admission. A planned post-procedure analgesia regimen or advice should be considered.