[Hemostasis with a new infrared-sapphire-coagulator (ISC-81). First clinical studies]

A new infrared sapphire coagulator (ISC-81) has been developed for the hemostasis of parenchymatous hemorrhage. Upon absorption by the bleeding tissue, light is converted into thermal energy thus causing coagulation and hemostasis. The light is transmitted to the bleeding tissue via a sapphire crystal, which is nonadhesive and of high thermal resistance. For application on flat surfaces or in ruptured tissues, either a cylindrical or a wedge-shaped crystal can be used. Up to now the ISC-81 has been used successfully on 22 patients, most of whom had hemorrhages from ruptured spleens or livers.