Patent ID: 7008442

Claim:
A structure comprising: a sheath introducer having a distal end tip, said sheath introducer comprising: a body region at about a predefined distance from said distal end tip, said body region comprising: a wall bounded by an outer wall surface of said sheath introducer and by an inner wall surface of said sheath introducer wherein said body region is oriented about a longitudinal axis of said body region; and at least one through-wall hole extending from said outer wall surface to said inner wall surface and having a longitudinal axis oriented at an angle to said longitudinal axis of said body region; and a dilator comprising: a shaft having a distal end; and a dilator plug formed about said shaft and extending from about said distal end of said shaft to about a predefined distance from said distal end of said shaft wherein following insertion of said dilator into said sheath introducer, said dilator plug forms a seal in said distal end of said sheath introducer, and further wherein said predefined distance is selected so that said dilator plug does not block said at least one through-wall hole.