An angiogram is an X-ray test which uses a special dye and camera to take pictures of the blood flow in an artery or a vein and common angiograms usually look at arteries near the heart, lungs, brain, head and neck, legs or arms and the aorta. It may be done to detect problems with blood vessels that affect blood flow or to look for changes in the blood vessels of organs that are injured or damaged. An angiogram is carried out by placing a thin tube called a catheter into a blood vessel in the groin that is the femoral artery or just above the elbow. The catheter is guided to the area to be studied and an iodine dye is injected into the vessels that aids in making the area show clearly on the x-ray pictures.
Star Close has primarily been designed to replace the traditional method of vessel closure that is manual compression which is a hands on procedure that involves squeezing the outer surface of the upper thigh for a couple of minutes to stop bleeding. This is a fairly new technique of arterial closure that seals the femoral puncture site with the help of an extra vascular star shaped nitinol clip. The Star Close clip has a special “through the sheath” feature that is intended to avoid contact with the skin and thus reduces the risk of infection. The vascular closure system is deviced for vessel closure that enables faster, safe and secure closure which in turn facilitates you to start moving around earlier after catheterization. Star Close is a tiny flexible clip on the surface of the femoral artery which closes the artery securely within seconds. Physicians can easily and quickly deliver the clip to the surface of the femoral artery with a series of only 4 clicks of device.
The pain during an angiogram recovery might be quite a bit and, therefore it is important that you take adequate rest after the surgery. You will be able to return to your normal routine usually within one week after the procedure but make sure you do not carry any heavy objects or perform any rigorous activities during this period. Also ensure that you keep your legs straight for a few hours. You might experience severe pain or swelling which can be eased out with medications and take special care of the area where the catheter was inserted as a considerable amount of pain and swelling because of the catheter will need medical attention.
Submitted by M T on February 16, 2010 at 03:32