Cardiac Cath thru wrist not the groin???

[Susieq14]

My husband is scheduled for a cardiac cath next week. Yesterday we met with the interventional cardiologist at a large teaching hospital. (Cath is needed because of reduced blood flow and an abnormal EKG on his nuclear stress test and he might need an angioplasty and stent.

At the very end of the exam and discussion the cardio told us that my husband had the option of having a traditional cath which goes from the femoral artery in the groin up to the heart or a newer version starting in the arterial artery in the wrist. He suggested that this method involves less time to stop bleeding than the groin puncture which requires 4 - 6 hours lying flat. He said using the wrist is successful 98% of the time - for 2% of patients there is sometimes a problem getting through the shoulder area and then they need to restart using the groin. If it goes though okay then the whole procedure is done as it would have been done starting in the groin. An angioplasty and stent can also be done this way.

Has anyone had a cath using the wrist instead of the groin? Anyone have any suggestions or advice? We're not sure what to select

[Flycaster305]

I know the wrist is being used, and if the six hour period of no leg motion could be avoided, I'd certainly try it.  I have a very difficult time staying still and they generally have to sandbag my leg, and my daughter has on several occasions sat on my leg to keep it from moving.  Seems like a win-win situation, especially if your husband has arthritic issues.  

[ed34]

Personally I would opt for the wrist. I wanted this for my last angioplasty but the cardiologist felt more comfortable with the groin, especially as he had to transport a number of tools to the affected area of the heart. They had trouble keeping my groin from bleeding even though an angioseal was used and I had to lay on my back all through the night.

[kenkeith]

I have not had any positive experience with a teaching hospital...I don't want a trainee performing interventional procedure on me.  But the trainee needs to get experience so someone has to be involved!  Sometimes a person who can't afford the expense goes to a teaching hospital and assumes the risk for a price break.

[ed34]

What? lol
I was treated at Imperial Research College London and had other treatment at St. Mary's in London, renown worldwide as a teaching hospital. I wasn't treated by a trainee????
Normally the procedure is done by someone highly qualified and the trainee Doctors
'observe'. Only qualified Doctors who have passed numerous exams after many years of study are then able to commence using the technology. They have to learn the equipment and the anatomy first. They start with simple procedures and as their experience grows they are progressed to more complicated procedures but still supervised through all those stages. I've had an angiogram performed by a young Doctor who was supervised all the time. I have to say, I bled less and had much less pain from that procedure than any of the 5 ive had. Maybe it was luck, maybe it was the fact that they tend to be much more careful due to inexperience. They wouldn't let a novice loose on performing a stent procedure without a lot of catheter experience and supervision.

[erijon]

Just curious, do the doctors at your teaching hospital use pacemakers built by the cheapest bidder? Kind of a contradiction.........(jk)

In either case, it sounds like the wrist would be a much more comfortable procedure if there was a qualified individual to perform it.

[kenkeith]

That is what the teaching hospital contends only qualified doctors, however, if one is under, the trainees will/may take turns on a certain procedure and tell you only the "doctors" (they are doctors) operated, but there actions are overseen by a qualified doctor .  Do you go to a Barber College for a haircut?  Some are better than others, I am told, but I wouldn't want the other.

A couple of decades a movie star by the name of Jeff Chandler had a fatal experience with his operation as medical personnel left a surgical tool in his body (wasn't in the US, overseas somewhere).  Need highly competent team to prevent mistakes.

[ed34]

"Need highly competent team to prevent mistakes"

Even the best make mistakes. With medicine it takes so long to learn a subject in great detail and gain experience that the best are senile by then anyway (jk)
All humans are capable of mistakes obviously, no matter how qualified they are. I have been walking for over 45 years now, but I still occassionally trip up.