Aortic catheterisation via percutaneous left ventricular puncture

Abstract

When retrograde catheterisation and angiography of the ascending aorta from the brachial or femoral approach is not possible, this can be accomplished by direct percutaneous left ventricular puncture. The haemodynamic and angiographic information obtained was essential to surgical correction of aortic arch anomalies as illustrated in two patients.

Left ventricular apical puncture: A procedure surviving well into the new millennium

“…The use of 18- [21,[23][24][25], 19-[22], and 20-gauge [3] needles has frequently been described in the literature. However, despite its first description as early as 1956 [7], the reliable but forgotten technique of using a 21-gauge needle for the percutaneous left ventricular apical puncture is rarely reported today [5].…”