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Cath "seal" what is it?

I had a heart cath done. Doc put a seal in. What is this and can it cause the numbness I still have in my leg? The seal is made of cellulose. I was the only one that day to have it.
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Avatar universal
Hello i just had a heart cath done also 2 weeks ago& i have the angioseal as well. I'm having a numbness feelin in my groin and upper leg plus i have pain but, something i have the numbness & pain n the whole leg. Everytime i walk or do to much its gets the best of me not only that i can't sleep at night. So with that being said , CAN SOMEONE HELP ME IM N PAIN!!!!!!  
By, In Pain
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hello i just had a heart cath done also 2 weeks ago& i have the angioseal as well. I'm having a numbness feelin in my groin and upper leg plus i have pain but, something i have the numbness & pain n the whole leg. Everytime i walk or do to much its gets the best of me not only that i can't sleep at night. So with that being said , CAN SOMEONE HELP ME IM N PAIN!!!!!!  
By, In Pain
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hello i just had a heart cath done also 2 weeks ago& i have the angioseal as well. I'm having a numbness feelin in my groin and upper leg plus i have pain but, something i have the numbness & pain n the whole leg. Everytime i walk or do to much its gets the best of me not only that i can't sleep at night. So with that being said , CAN SOMEONE HELP ME IM N PAIN!!!!!!  
By, In Pain
Helpful - 0
237039 tn?1264258057
You also asked about the numbness. I have had both the peripheral cath and an angio cath. The numbness in my foot got better, but ever so slowly. I had the numbness somewhat before the blockage was opened though.  Did you have a blocked artery to your leg? Mine was so old it took them several hours to open, rather than the normal 30 minutes.  At one point the doctor considered bypass. Anyway, my leg had some numbness before they inserted the stent.

Good luck to you!
Ally
Helpful - 0
21064 tn?1309308733
Wow!!  That is some story!!  You've certainly been through the mill!  So sorry to hear you had so much on your plate -- and, in the ER nonetheless.   Not exactly the setting to make the best decisions!!  

Hopefully, your decision will pay off in the long run and will had healthy, happy years to your YOUNG life!!  Amazing on what defines "old" these days!  

I hadn't heard that sanding without a mask could cause such significant problems.  I hope lots of people read your post and learn.  I did!

Thanks for the informative answer : )

Take care and enjoy
Helpful - 0
367994 tn?1304953593
I had a cardiologist who came to me in ER, showed me some X-rays, and said I had an enlarged heart.  I had had a heart attack, prognosis grim, needed a transplant but too old, and condition ruled out surgery.  He had a very heavy Mid-East accent, said I had 100% LAD blockage, blocked RCA and circumflex.  I approved RCA stent.

A couple of months later he wanted to do angioplasty and stent the circumflex.  I adked why now (no angina, etc).  He shrugged...I asked if that would increase life span, and he nodded yes.  In response to my question if the very low EF would ever increase, the response was no.  A month or so later he was no longer employed and moved out of the state.  My present cardiologist is non-interventional.

My heart issues developed after very foolishly not wearing a mask while sanding in a closed area and that compromised the respiratory system causing CHF.  I never had any warning symptoms until CHF.

Knowing what I have now learned, I would have opted for just medication and no intervention until if or when I had unrelieved angina.
I'm sure you have knowledge of COURAGE study and that would have influenced my decision, but refresh:

COURAGE (Clinical Outcomes Utilizing Revascularization and Aggressive Drug Evaluation) was a 5-year study (1999-2004) involving 2,287 people at 50 Centers across North America. Patients with partially blocked coronary arteries and chronic stable angina were randomly divided up into two groups. One group had angioplasty with a
bare metal stent implanted along with medication and healthy lifestyle changes. The other group of people in the study just took medication and made healthy lifestyle changes, but did not have angioplasty and stent placement.

The COURAGE trial was formed to find out if combining angioplasty and stents with medication and lifestyle changes was more effective at preventing death or heart attacks than just taking medications and making lifestyle changes alone.
The COURAGE study showed no meaningful difference in survival or reduced risk of heart attack with the use of interventional device procedures (angioplasty, bare metal stents) plus optimal drug therapy compared with optimal drug therapy alone.

Currently, the drug eluding stents (which I have) compared to bare metal studies show there is a risk of clots up to year and longer than bare metal.  So that can be a issue as well.  For me medication, exercise, lifestyle has been working and my current doctor is a non-interventional cardiologist.  He has mention EECP if angina cannot be controlled with medication.
Helpful - 0
63984 tn?1385437939
I've had both the seal and pressure techniques several times.  When I asked the doc why he chooses one system over the other, he said it depends on the time frame he has in the stent room.  I can handle the sandbag with no problem, it's my daughter... when she sees me moving about a bit, she sits on my leg to keep me still.  
Helpful - 0
21064 tn?1309308733
Hey!!  I had the plug and still had to lie flat!!  I didn't have to use the sandbag the second time, but because I thought the plug might come out (worrywort), I used it anyway...LOL.  I also had a foley catheter because the procedure took so long. However, it was AWOL when I was in recovery (whew!)

KenKeith, No problem.  Why wouldn't you have agreed to the stent?  They're good in the case of clogged arteries, right?  My dad had one (or more, dunno) put in his leg this past fall.  It has helped with some of the leg pain for PAD.  
Helpful - 0
367994 tn?1304953593
I had a stent implant while hospitalized for CHF. Under those circumstances, pressure was appropriate and no problem for me.  In fact, I don't remember much about the whole ordeal and don't even recall any weight.  If I hadn't been so drugged up and fully knowledgeable of options, I probably would not have agreed to a stent implant although there hasn't been unfavorable effects thereof (that I know about!).

Mom, it was my error.  I confused the issue by interpreting the question to be "cath seal" with peripheral vessel implications and answered accordingly. It is highly probable the question related to angio-seal post angioplasty and you gave the proper answer.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
jim62  is correct if you can get the plug it will keep you from having to lie perfectly still for 6 to 8 hours flat on your back with a weight or clamp as in my case because of my p.a.d.i could not use plug. i had to be cathed to urinate because i could not hold it for the six hours. so the plug would have been ablessing for me
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Wow, a lot of that was over my head, too.  That seal (closes the cath entry site) will just dissolve as mom said.  I had a couple, and did not have any numbness issues that I can recall.  They beat the heck out of lying still for 8 hours.
Helpful - 0
367994 tn?1304953593
Thanks for weighing in and sharing your experience.  I didn't have any post angioplasty complications from femoral bleeding, etc. In fact the procedure went quite well.  I wasn't on any medication i.e aspirin  and that may have helped. I have unpleasantly thought about a bleeding problems (now on aspirin therapy) for any subsequent interventional procedure...
Helpful - 0
21064 tn?1309308733
Wrapper,

I truly didn't mean to imply anything negative about your question.  My answer about the angioseal was absolutely aboveboard and honest.  I thought that's what you might be referring to since I had a "seal."  If I came across wrong, I am very sorry.  Did you have an angioseal, or was it something different?

Again, I apologize for any misunderstanding.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thank you all. I didn't know. I thought this was a learning forum. I'm sorry if I did not "GET IT" all straight. I apoligize. I hopr everything is well for all of you. Thanks again.
Helpful - 0
21064 tn?1309308733
After my first ablation, the doctor used manual pressure for 20-30 minutes to seal off the entry site.  The second time, they used the angioseal to close off one of the entry sites.  The second procedure required access to the left side of my heart so they entered through the femoral artery and/or vein.  I sure hope that all patients are given post-procedural instructions for the angioseal.  YIKES!  
Helpful - 0
367994 tn?1304953593
Gee, is it possible a patient wasn't told with discharge instructions ("usually written") that an "angio seal" has closed the femoral artery that was the site of intervention rather than the usual applied pressure procedure and possible complications to watch!!?

I thought the subject was a cath seal for peripheral vessels, and needless to say your response is correct for an angio seal after CORONARY angioplasty.





Helpful - 0
21064 tn?1309308733
That's over my head : )

I thought we were talking about an "angio seal."  
Helpful - 0
367994 tn?1304953593
A seal is self explanatory...its a closure.  A cath is instrument of application, sorry I didn't know you knew what a cath is! (In context of peripherals it is NOT a heart cath). And I provided some of the applications in my prior post.

If you're looking for a technical perspective it is a method of forming an occluding cast through a vessel opening in the side wall of a main blood vessel for occluding a PERIPHERAL VESSEL outside of the opening WITHOUT occluding the main vessel.  Thereby SEALING (closure) the main vessel lumen (vessel's inside space) from the vessel opening into the peripheral vessel so as to schield the main vessel wall next to the vessel opening.

It permits the delivering of an agent (in present context it is probably an occluding agent) through the vessel opening into the peripheral vessel and maintaining the seal until occlusion is effected.  Result is the vessel is sealed without occluding the main vessel.
Bottom line it is introducing means for delivering an occluding agent (or whatever) through a delivery exit port into a position in the main vessel adjacent to the vessel opening to deliver the occluding agent through the vessel opening.

Also, the procedure can be for an aneurysm.
Helpful - 0
21064 tn?1309308733
Not sure if this is the same thing, but when I had an ablation the doctor used a St. Jude's seal to close off the entry site in my groin.  I think they are more common with arterial openings.  The "plug" goes away (not exactly sure how, but maybe it dissolves) in about 90 days.  In the meantime, I was supposed to carry a card so other doctors would know the plug was in my groin (more in case of an emergency situation where they would need access to an artery).

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Avatar universal
I know what the cath is I was asking about the seal
Helpful - 0
367994 tn?1304953593
What is it?  It is an imported port done with an open ended artrial cath for repeated access to the vein to provide meds, fluid, blood products and imaging.  Whether numbness is an expected effect should be addressed to your doctor.
Helpful - 0
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