Torque device suture technique to achieve hemostasis in large-bore venous access

To describe and compare a novel technique using a torque device to manage figure-of-eight suture tension for venous access hemostasis in patients who have undergone atrial septal defect (ASD) or patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure.

Large bore venous access has become increasingly important in transcatheter procedures, but management of hemostasis can be time-consuming and/or resource intensive. As such, various techniques have sought to provide cost effective and safe alternatives to manual compression. We describe a modification of the figure-of-eight suture technique wherein we apply a torque device to manage variable suture tension instead of tying a knot and compare it to the standard figure-of-eight suture technique.

We performed a retrospective study of 40 consecutive patients who underwent ASD or PFO closure, 20 of whom underwent standard figure-of-eight technique and 20 of whom underwent figure-of-eight with torque device modification. Bleeding Academic Research Consortium definitions were used to categorize bleeding events.

The groups were similar in age, gender, weight, aspirin use, platelet count, procedure time, hemoglobin, and international normalized ratio. Standard figure-of-eight suture had seven patients with bleeding, with six classified as BARC II and one as BARC I. Figure-of-eight plus torque device had three patients with bleeding, with two classified BARC II and one as BARC I. There were no incidences of hematoma in either group.

The torque device suture technique is a unique modification of the figure-of-eight suture technique to achieve venous hemostasis. In addition, the modification allows secure and variable suture tension as well as easy removal by nursing staff.