摘要 |
A percutaneous vascular sealing assembly (30) for sealing a puncture opening (17) in a blood vessel (16) following an invasive medical procedure. The sealing assembly includes an elongated tubular shaft (32) having a distal end (36) carrying an electrosurgical sealing assembly (34). An energy source assembly (38) is connected to the sealing assembly (34) to enable hemostasis of the puncture site. An associated method for percutaneous positioning of the sealing assembly (30) in substantially direct engagement with the blood vessel (16) at the puncture (17) following a medical procedure is provided. The method includes the steps of aligning guide means (12,28) in axial alignment with the puncture, mounting the sealing assembly (30) for movement along the guide means (12,28), and moving at least one of the sealing assembly (30) and guide means (12,28) until a transverse shoulder (20,36) encounters increased resistance to movement toward the blood vessel (16) by reason of engaging the exterior surface (40) of the blood vessel ( 16).
|