Abstract:

BACKGROUND: A novel hemostatic material SURGICELTM has achieved good clinical results in the micro-surgery of many sections, and in neurosurgery, there is no prospective randomized controlled study reported.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of SURGICELTM and gelatin sponge in the management of active and local bleeding in neurosurgery.
METHODS: Sixty patients undergoing cranial neurosurgery in the Department of Neurosurgery, Suzhou Municipal Hospital between April 2008 and December 2010 were randomized into the SURGICELTM group (n=30) and gelatin sponge group (n=30) with the use of SURGICELTM and gelatin sponge as hemostatic materials, respectively.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: One case of hemostasis failed in the SURGICELTM group, whereas 3 cases failed in the gelatin sponge group. The failure rate of the gelatin sponge group was 10%, significantly higher than that of the SURGICELTM group (3%, P < 0.05). The mean hemostasis time in the SURGICELTM group and gelatin sponge group was (2.43±0.75) and (4.23±0.89) minutes, respectively, showing a significant difference between the two group (P < 0.05). No allergic reaction and rejection occurred postoperatively. SURGICELTM allows faster hemostatic effect and larger hemostatic success rate than gelatin sponge during neurosurgeries.