Source: DF Thompson et al.
TRADITIONAL USES: Fibrin glue is used for a variety of different clinical applications. The most common use of the glue is to seal together a surgical incision. It is particularly useful in sealing a delicate incision in which sutures or metal clips would be too invasive. In cardiovascular or thoracic surgery, fibrin glue can be sprayed on the heart and areas of the chest and throat to stop bleeding. Fibrin glue may also be used in patients who suffer from hemophilia to stop external bleeding. Orthopedic and plastic surgery procedures sometimes include using fibrin glue as well.
Source: British Medical Journal, 1994;308:933-934
REVERSAL OF COMA: Sixty-eight-year-old Algis Bliudzius was already in a coma when he arrived to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. For two days, he had been suffering from headaches that only presented themselves when he was standing upright. He was diagnosed with spontaneous intracranial hypotension, which was caused by a small hole in the dura (part of the casing that surrounds the brain and spinal cord), through which his spinal fluid was leaking. Because of the spinal fluid leak, Bliudzius' brain was sagging in his skull when he changed positions. Doctors first took a standard approach to treating the spinal fluid leak. They injected a blood patch into the patient's dura at the site where the fluid was leaking. Initially, this worked and Bliudzius was able to regain consciousness. But 48 hours later, the patient was drifting in and out of consciousness again. At that point, doctors administered 2 milliliters of fibrin glue to the leak site in the dura. The next day, Bliudzius was not only conscious, but he was able to walk freely, and his headache was gone.
Source: The Lancet, 2007;369:1402
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Nilou Salimpour
Public Relations
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA
salimpourn@cshs.org
(310) 246-9889
