Background: Some electrophysiological techniques, such as balloon cryoablation, involve the use of steerable sheaths of large diameter (outer diameter 15 Fr or more). Their introduction to the femoral vein may be difficult, especially in patients who have had numerous venipunctures in this area.

Aim: The authors describe a modification of typical venous access with the use of a “buddy wire” technique, facilitating the insertion of the cryoablation sheaths to the femoral vein.

Methods: A case-control study. The study involved a retrospective analysis of 27 consecutive procedures of balloon cryoablation of pulmonary veins performed in 2015 by the first author, compared to 23 consecutive procedures of balloon cryoablation performed in 2014 without a “buddy wire” technique. The study and control groups did not vary significantly. There were 11 women in both groups. The average age of the patients was 55.9 years. The “buddy wire” technique was the only difference in procedure performance between the control and study groups. In the study group a short introducer was inserted through a puncture of the right femoral vein, and then two wires were introduced through it. One of them was secured, so that it could not move, while the other served as a typical trans-septal puncture monitored with the use of X-ray. The standard trans-septal sheet was replaced with a 15 Fr steerable sheath, inserted through the same puncture site next to the secured “buddy wire”. The short wire was then removed from the femoral vein. Typical balloon cryoablation of pulmonary veins was performed. After the end of the procedure, the puncture site was secured with a haemostatic suture for 12–18 h.

Results: Femoral access with a 15 Fr steerable sheath and cryoablation were safely performed in all patients in the study group and in 22 out of 23 in the control group (100% vs. 95.6%, p = NS). Pulmonary vein isolation in one patient was performed using another technique. No damage to steerable sheaths was observed. There were no vascular complications requiring extended hospitalisation, blood transfusion, or surgical interventions in either group. The “door-to-door” time of the procedures ranged from 2 h 32 min on average in the study group to 2 h 43 min on average in the control group (p = NS). There was significant reduction in fluoroscopy time: 7 min 15 s on average from 11 min 25 s (p = 0.0009).

Conclusions: The use of the “buddy wire” technique may lead to significant reduction in fluoroscopy time during cryoablation of pulmonary veins by facilitating the insertion of the steerable sheaths to the femoral vein.