PNEUMOSTATIC EFFECT OF GELATIN-RESORCINOL FORMALDEHYDE-GLUTARALDEHYDEGLUE ON THERMAL-INJURY OF THE LUNG - AN EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY ON RATS

Objective: Recently, the use of gelatin-resorcinol formaldehyde-glutar aldehyde (GRFG) glue has been reported in vascular surgery, especially in surgery for acute aortic dissection. However, reports concerning i ts use in lung surgery are quite rare. Although the strong adhesion an d tensile strength of GRFG glue to fresh incisional wounds of the lung has been demonstrated experimentally, the effectiveness of this adhes ive on thermal injury with severe tissue degeneration has not yet been reported. Methods: We experimentally evaluated the ability of GRFG gl ue to seal air leaks through severely degenerated tissues after therma l injury on rat lung, and compared its performance with two reference adhesives: fibrin glue and EDH-adhesive. Results: The GRFG glue provid ed complete pneumostasis immediately after the sealing in the presence of positive pressure ventilation, unlike the other two reference adhe sives. The fate and biocompatibility of the three glues were examined histologically at 1 h and 3, 8, and 20 days after treatment. The GRFG glue tightly adhered to the degenerated tissue surface and was gradual ly fragmented and absorbed. The healing process was favorable, indicat ing good biocompatibility. Local tissue irritability was negligible. C onclusions: Even in the presence of tissue degeneration and positive p ressure ventilation, the GRFG glue has proved efficacious as a surgica l adhesive in lung surgery because of its ability to bind tissue rapid ly and tightly. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.