AF Symposium: New Product Vascular Closure Device for Catheter Ablations
I just got off the phone with Andy who was telling me about his RF Ablation and his post-op experience. He had to lie on his back for 15 hours before his groin incision stopped bleeding and he was safe to go home. He said it was quite painful to be immobile that long.
My first report from the 2019 AF Symposium is about a new product used during catheter ablations and is designed to help patients like Andy go home sooner after their ablation.
The problem? Post-op bleeding from the catheter insertion point in the groin. Typically, the patient lies on their back for about 6 hours while the insertion point heals and stops bleeding enough so they can be discharged. (For guys, especially, it’s no fun having to use a Foley catheter to pee.)
Cardiva Medical has solved this problem. A simple, ingenious device closes off the insertion point(s) in the groin with a “collagen plug”.

Collagen plug like a cork in a bottle
How it’s used: After completing the ablation, the EP withdraws the ablation catheter, then replaces it with the VASCADE MVP which has a expandable/collapsible delivery disc to implant a collagen plug. This plug acts like a cork in a bottle and stops all bleeding leakage. (The FDA was so impressed with the VASCADE that it approved it within weeks.)
I give it a try: In the Exhibitors Hall, Michael Gebauer of Cardiva Medical demonstrated it to me. It takes a whole 5 seconds to insert the VASCADE MVP.
Continue reading (for how to get the cork out of the bottle, and more)…go to my full report: Cardiva Medical ASCADE MVP Vascular Closure Device.