Angiographic follow-up after suture-mediated femoral artery closure

PURPOSE: Percutaneous closure devices are used in as many as 30% of all endovascular studies. Despite widespread use of these devices, only limited imaging has been performed after percutaneous closure. In this study, arteriograms of patients who had undergone suture-mediated closure with the Perclose device were reviewed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between June 1998 and November 2001, 31 patients who had previously undergone closure with use of the Perclose device at our institution returned for additional angiographic procedures. Twenty-one patients underwent closure with use of the Perclose device after embolization, including hepatic artery chemoembolization (n = 18), treatment of hypervascular sacral metastases (n = 2), and bronchial artery embolization (n = 1). Nineteen of these patients had thrombocytopenia. Ten patients underwent closure with use of the Perclose device after diagnosis and treatment of peripheral vascular disease. RESULTS: Of 31 patients, 28 had normal follow-up studies, including one patient who underwent four previous closures. These 28 patients all had normal femoral artery caliber at initial angiography and a platelet count of more than 18,000/mm(3). Two patients with preexisting atherosclerotic change had progression of disease at the puncture site and a third with severe thrombocytopenia developed a small asymptomatic posterolateral pseudoaneurysm. CONCLUSION: In patients with normal femoral arteries, the long-term effects of closure with use of the Perclose device, even performed multiple times, appears to be minimal.