Surgery Without Stitches
Bravo.
I don’t think they can mend broken hearts
A thin polymer bio-film that seals surgical wounds could make sutures a relic of medical history.
Measuring just 50 microns thick, the film is placed on a surgical wound and exposed to an infrared laser, which heats the film just enough to meld it and the tissue, thus perfectly sealing the wound.
Known as Surgilux, the device’s raw material is extracted from crab shells and has Food and Drug Administration approval in the US…
“The beauty of this is that infra-red laser doesn’t cause any tissue damage. Better still, Surgilux has anti-microbial properties, which deters post-operative infections…”
The researchers — who are looking for commercial backing to initiate clinical trials — are planning a second generation version of Surgilux that incorporates growth factors and perhaps stem cells to regenerate nerves.
I try to focus many of my science and medicine posts on processes already on the way to real usefulness. This one surely does qualify.
Posted: Fri - December 28, 2007 at 06:20 PM