LifePatch Surgery^TM
Absorbable Surgical Hemostat

Problem: Between 6-7M absorbable surgical hemostats are used every year in the US to prevent blood and fluid leakage in surgery. Optimal blood management, which includes the appropriate provision and use of blood and hemostasis products, is a cornerstone of modern surgery.  Successful techniques of reducing or avoiding blood transfusion can drastically improve patient outcomes. Unfortunately, while simple mechanical hemostats are able to control blood oozing or light fluid leakage, they are insufficient for ensuring hemostasis in cases of moderate or flowing bleeding. As such, 30% of hemostat usage requires the addition of costly thrombin to improve hemostatic efficacy. Such integration of a mechanical hemostat together with a biological hemostatic agent is known as a combination hemostat and such devices are acknowledged as the fastest growing segment of the absorbable hemostat market. Nonetheless, the existing combination hemostat solutions remain limited by their reliance on unstable biological factors and lack of significant adhesiveness. Thus, there remains a strong need for an easy to use and stabile integrated, combination absorbable hemostat with sufficient adhesiveness to stay in place on a wound site without getting displaced by flowing blood.

Solution: LifePatch^TM is comprised of a lyophilized matrix containing LifeBond sealant components. LifePatch^TM is applied to a bleeding or leaking injury site where the sealant components are rapidly reconstituted. The components mix to form a firm adhesive gel that seals off a wound site and provides reliable hemostasis. The gel is left in place and is reabsorbed over a period of several weeks as the matrix degrades. Alternatively, it can be easily removed to facilitate further treatment of an injury site.

Competition: Currently available absorbable hemostats are made up of oxidized cellulose, collagen, or gelatin in sheet, sponge, or powder form. However, these products are intended mainly to provide hemostasis in cases of oozing or very mild blood flow. Even the addition of thrombin does not enable any of these hemostats to control flowing bleeding or provide an integrated and reliable solution for the management of a comprehensive range of injury severities.