Guide wire

Device made of flexible metal used to guide placement of catheters in vascular surgery. The guide wire is usually hydrophilic which makes it very smooth and prevents it from sticking to the vessel lumen while moving through vessels. It is also coiled around itself to help make it more flexible. You must keep it hydrated during a procedure or the wire will break. The steps include

1. insertion of the introducer into the targeted major vessel 2. insertion of straight catheter down the major vessel to a target vessel. 3. insertion of guide wire down the catheter 4. advancing the catheter to the target vessel 5. repeat 3-4 until target is reached.

Step 3 involves choosing different tips of guide wires because vessels may be tortuous. Simply trying to advance the catheter would not cause it to enter the target vessel and may cause perforation of the vessel. The tips can be bent into a shape the surgeon wishes because metal is malleable.