Plasmax™: Skin-General
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Buckley RC, Breazeale EE, Edmond JA, Brzezienski MA. Plast Reconstr Surg 1999;103(1):202-6.
Summary: An autologous fibrin sealant is used as a substitute for sutures or staples in skin graft fixation in 50 patients, with excellent results and no adverse reactions or infections.
Quotation: “This method offers a simple, cost-effective alternative for skin-graft fixation that leads to minimized postoperative care, subjectively cleaner wounds, and high patient satisfaction.”
Chakravorty RC, Sosnowski KM. Autologous fibrin glue in full-thickness skin grafting. Ann Plast Surg 1989;23(6):488-491.
Summary: Autologous fibrin glue was used to anchor skin grafts in 50 patients, with uniform success after four months. The technique was particularly effective for small grafts on irregular contours where conventional suture fixation would have been technically difficult.
Quotation: “The use of autologous fibrin glue has so far been an unqualified clinical success. The preparation of the glue is easy and can be done on the morning of surgery. The postoperative management is uncomplicated. The success rate is high and the functional result excellent.”
Dahlstrom KK, Weis-Fogh US, Medgyesi S, Rostgaard J, Sorensen H. The use of autologous fibrin adhesive in skin transplantation. Plast Reconstr Surg 1992;89(5):968- 72.
Summary: Autologous fibrin sealant prepared by ethanol precipitation of fibrinogen was used to secure skin grafts on chronic leg ulcers. Each patient served as his or her own control, with half of the ulcer covered with skin graft sealed with autologous fibrin adhesive and half covered with graft not sealed with fibrin adhesive. Breaking strength of the adhesion was higher in those grafts sealed with fibrin adhesive and biopsies taken at 7 days showed better early stage graft healing.
Quotation: “We conclude, therefore, that the superior strength of the sealed grafts compared with the unsealed grafts, as demonstrated by the dynamometer test, makes autologous fibrin adhesive useful for fixation of skin grafts in difficult anatomic locations and in cases where bandaging of the grafts is difficult.”
DeMoraes AM, Annichino-Bizzachi JM, Rossi AB. Use of autologous fibrin glue in dermatologic surgery: application of skin graft and second intention healing. Sao Paulo Med J 1998;116(4):1747-52.
Summary: Fourteen patients with malign epithelial cutaneous tumors were treated by excision of the tumors followed by skin grafting with or without autologous fibrin glue or second intention healing with or without fibrin glue. Fibrin glue contributed to immediate hemostasis, graft adhesion, and reduced surgical time in graft cases and an increase in granulation tissue in open wounds.
Quotation: “In summary, these results favor the use of fibrin glue in surgery on dermatological tumors, either using grafts or second intention healing, as it facilitates the intraoperative period, reducing surgical time and favoring clinical evolution and the resultant healing.”
Ruggiero R, Procaccini E, Gili S, Cremone C, Decimo G, Iovino F, Decimo L, Sparavigna L, Subitosi A, Parmeggiani D, Avenia N. Fibrin glue to reduce seroma after axillary lymphadenectomy for breast cancer. Minerva Chir 2008;63:249-54.
Summary: Fibrin sealant was compared to conventional hemostasis in a randomized study of 60 patients undergoing lymphadenectomy for breast cancer. The patients in the fibrin glue group had a significantly lower drainage volume (mean 120 ml) than the control group (mean 250 ml), fewer evacuative punctures (2 punctures vs. 4 punctures in the control group), and significantly reduced seroma duration (mean 11.2 days vs. 17.5 days in the control group).
Quotation: “The authors conclude that the use of fibrin glue does not always prevent seroma formation, but does reduce seroma magnitude, duration, and necessary evacuative procedures.”