BioGlue Surgical Adhesive--an appraisal of its indications in cardiac surgery

The recent emergence of BioGlue Surgical Adhesive has widened the field of surgical adhesives for the cardiac surgeon. We believe the present series, in a wider spectrum of cardiac conditions, is the first larger scale evaluation of the use of this new adhesive.

BioGlue was used in 115 consecutive patients (90 male and 25 female, age range 5 days to 87 years) from September 9, 1998 to March 12, 2001. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative data were examined to establish its use, indications, and outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac surgical procedures.

The most common underlying pathologic conditions were aortic dissections (30 patients) and aortic aneurysms (39 patients). The procedures carried out were aortic root replacement (36 patients), aortic wall replacement (39), ascending aorta repair (2), coronary artery bypass grafting (28), valve procedures (11), ventricular aneurysm repair (6), repair of postinfarct ventricular septal defect (2), and correction of congenital conditions (13 patients). The indications for BioGlue use were hemostasis in 79 patients, tissue adherence in 21, and tissue strengthening in 30. The hospital mortality was 10.1% (11 patients). Only 1 patient required a late reoperation for dehiscence of a suture line with formation of a false aneurysm. The mean postoperative blood loss at 12 hours was 702 mL. Ten patients developed a cerebrovascular accident postoperatively, which was considered to be unrelated to the use of BioGlue.

All surgeons in this study believed that BioGlue facilitated the operation. Future follow-up of patients is required to validate our early promising results and to assess the long-term outcome of patients treated with BioGlue.