A simple method of closing an iatrogenic subclavian arterial puncture

Central venous catheters are the mainstay in the intensive management of surgical patients today and they have increasingly been applied in different medical specialties and for different clinical indications. It is generally safe to place central venous catheters using anatomic landmarks alone, but there are some possible immediate, early, and late complications related to the implantation technique. One particularly dangerous vascular complication is inadvertent arterial sheath placement. When this occurs in a site that is anatomically non-compressible, sheath removal can necessitate surgery or exposure to a significant risk of haemorrhage with manual pressure. We report a case of a sheath that was inadvertently placed in the subclavian artery and was successfully removed using a percutaneous vascular closure device.