I also had 5 of them, through the groin. After the 1st one in 2004, I had to lie perfectly still on my back in a general room for several hours with, as I recall, bandages supplying pressure on the wound. Was only allowed to move after about half a day. Was allowed home after that were satisfied the incision would not open.
The second one about 2 years later, same procedure lying still on my back, the pressure arrangement failed and massive bleeding ensued. Panic! Four nurses taking turns, in pairs, applying manual pressure on the incision. The synchronisation of placing and removing tired hands and bend-over bodies across and around my bed, not to release pressure on the incision, was quite something! This is a story I relate to friends around the barbeque in more vivid detail. Suffice it to say that I fully endorsed the emergency measure of sitting on top of the patient and apologizing later!.
With the other 3 caths, there was no need for all the above and I was released after possibly an hour of observation. I recall that the cardiologist told me that they now use some kind of dissolvable plug that they place in the artery incision. I am not sure about my facts here.
