I recently became aware of a hemostasis valve that is shorter than standard. The conventional hemostatic valves used in coronary interventional procedures generally measure 76 mm or more and are sufficient for almost all interventions.
The FLO40XR valve (MeritMedical, South Jordan, UT, USA) measures 50 mm, has a 7.3 French inner lumen (0.096’’ or 2.44 mm) and withstands a pressure of 400 psi. It is the shortest valve on the market that allows contrast injection, through a 15 cm extension tube.
Such valves are useful in special cases in which the balloon or stent is not long enough to reach the target area. On occasion, they are needed when we have to dilate the native bed of the left anterior descending artery via a mammary artery graft, in some types of telescopic assembly with several catheters, and in some types of retrograde access. A gain of 2 centimeters can be enough to reach the desired site without having to cut the guide catheter.
Key words: hemostasis valve, coronary interventional procedure.
