title: Skull base cerebrospinal fluid leakage control with a fibrin-based composite tissue adhesive.
abstract: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks can be responsible for significant patient morbidity and mortality. While the majority of leaks induced after head trauma will seal without intervention, spontaneous or surgically-induced leaks often require operative repair. Many modifications on standard surgical technique are available for repair of CSF fistulae, but none assures adequate closure. We have studied the efficacy of a novel fibrin-based composite tissue adhesive (CTA) for closure of experimentally-induced CSF leaks in rats. Fistulae were created in two groups of animals. Two weeks after creation of the leaks, the animals were sacrificed and analyzed for persistence of leak. A 58% leakage rate was noted in the control group (n = 12), and no leaks were noted in the experimental group closed after application of CTA to the surgical defect followed by skin closure (n = 11). Comparing the control group to the experimental group, results were statistically significant (p = 0.015). These data suggest that CTA may be effective as an adjunct for the closure of CSF fistulae.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Rock
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Sierra
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Castro-Moure
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jiang