Using a Glidewire Cheater and Flow Switch to Temporarily Secure Purse-String Sutures

Following completion of an arteriovenous graft or fistula intervention, various methods exist by which an interventionalist may achieve hemostasis. Manual compression is the simplest technique but often requires an extended period of time. Many interventionalists will place purse-string sutures at the site of vascular access to achieve hemostasis, with the sutures left in place when the patient leaves the angiography suite. Consequently, these sutures may stay in for an extended period of time and even be present at follow-up interventions many months later or, worse, may get infected. The glidewire cheater and flow switch technique is a method by which hemostasis can be achieved, and it obviates the need for the sutures to be left in place after the patient leaves the angiography suite.