Treatment of venous ulcers with surgical adhesives derived from snake venom

Abstract

A Brazilian dictionary states that "ulcer", from the Latin word ulcuserisé, is a superficial lesion on skin or mucous membrane characterized by an inflammatory process and loss of tissue. Ulcers are a relatively frequent problem that may be worsen by infection or long-time duration. In these cases, they can represent a serious public health issue, since the increased case number contributes to the burden on the public health service. In recent decades, wound treatment has advanced in technological and scientific aspects regarding both development of new products and techniques. Ongoing research in this area is providing new products for wound treatment. Among newly tested substances that have presented successful results is fibrin glue, a snake venom derivative that promotes reduction of infection and edema as well as bleeding control and pain decrease. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate fibrin glue effects on ulcers of venous origin in 24 patients that were divided into two groups. The first one (G1) consisted of 11 patients treated without the adhesive while the second group (G2) was composed of 13 persons who were under therapy with the adhesive. The results of this study revealed that patients treated with fibrin glue evolved to a satisfactory healing when compared to the other group. Therefore, fibrin glue is an appropriate alternative for treating leg ulcers with several advantages: easy application, less pain, early hospital discharge, not transmiting diseases, lower cost than the adhesive currently available in Brazil and, finally, it is a Brazilian technology.

Unique heterologous fibrin biopolymer with hemostatic, adhesive, sealant, scaffold and drug delivery properties: a systematic review

“…Gatti et al [37,38] used the HFB for the first time to treat chronic venous ulcers assessing its effects on the repair process. They concluded that the application of fibrin sealant may contribute to the wound healing process.…”

“…After these trials, several pioneering experimental studies have been carried out. Currently, the new sealant is being used in several clinical and biotechnological practices, such as in dental surgeries [8,29,30], recovery of injured nervous [31-33], bone repair [34-36], and treatment of chronic venous ulcers [37,38,39].…”

Treatment of venous ulcers with fibrin sealant derived from snake venom

“…Furthermore, it was clear that the capacity to prepare the wound bed led to diminution of pain and allowed the patients discharge at the eighth week of treatment. Based on these preliminary results the authors suggest that the weekly application of sealant, for at least eight weeks, could improve the healing process and raise the cure rate (26).…”