Sutureless Closure of Arterial Cannulation Sites

Percutaneous femoral cannulation for venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is commonly performed but percutaneous removal of arterial cannulas has not been broadly accepted. We hypothesized that a system that allows endovascular access to ECMO circuits along with the MANTA^® large-bore vascular closure device could be used to successfully close arterial ECMO cannulation sites in a large animal model.

Yorkshire swine (40 to 60 kg, n = 2) were used for this study. In the first swine, the infrarenal abdominal aorta was exposed. The aorta was cannulated once using a 15 Fr cannula and twice with a 19 Fr arterial cannula. A novel adaptor system that facilitates endovascular access to ECMO circuits was connected, and a 0.035″ Benston wire was placed through the adaptor and guided into the aorta. The cannula was removed over the wire and manual pressure was applied. The MANTA^® sheath was inserted over the wire followed by the closure unit and was deployed. The process was repeated at 2 separate sites. A similar experiment was performed in a second swine, but through a median sternotomy to cannulate the ascending aorta.

Good hemostasis was achieved at all cannulation sites. Angiography demonstrated unobstructed flow across all closure sites with no evidence of extravasation.

The data presented here support the use of the MANTA^® vascular closure device for the closure of arterial cannulation sites following ECMO decannulation and demonstrates utility of a novel adaptor system for establishing endovascular access in this context.