The effectiveness of fibrin glue sealant for reducing experimental pulmonary ari leak.

The effectiveness of fibrin glue as a biological sealant for pulmonary air leaks was determined in 16 dogs. A standardized pleural defect was made in the left lower lobe, and the quantity of air passing through a chest tube was assessed with a Collins respirometer. For the 8 randomly assigned control animals, the air leak decreased over 90 minutes from a mean of 1.4 L/min to a mean of 1.1 L/min (mean decrease, 19.8%). In the 8 randomly assigned fibrin glue-treated animals, the air leak decreased from a mean of 2.1 L/min to a mean of 0.5 L/min (mean decrease, 80.8%) (p less than 0.0001). Postoperative evaluation of survivors disclosed no increased adhesions in the glue-treated animals and complete resorption of the glue at 3 months. We conclude that in this animal model, fibrin glue reduced the size of pulmonary air leaks in the early period after thoracotomy and did not lead to increased intrapleural adhesions.