the sheath was removed with
digital pressure applied for a further 2 minutes and slowly released over a 5 minute period until the pulse returned to the
foot. If bleeding was detected a further 5-10 minutes of manual pressure was applied until stable. All patients laid flat for
60 minutes and then were elevated to 45 degrees for another 60 minutes. The use of this protocol resulted in minor
hematomas (1.6%) and the absence of major complications among a total of 526 subjects ,