Blood clotting factor XIII (FXIII) and thrombin were immobilized on absorbable gelatin sponge, in an attempt to enhance the local accumulation of an insoluble fibrin clot.
Two different types of the materials were devised: a “Mixed type” and a “Sandwich type”. The extent of fibrin formation was preliminarily studied in vitro and the immobilized materials were then clinically applied as thrombotic agent in therapeutic transcatheter embolization for the patients with a malignant hepatic neoplasm.
In in vitro studies, a large amount of fibrin or blood clot was observed on the immobilized carriers when incubated in plasma or blood, respectively. With this materials, the blood coagula formed rapidly and was proved to produce an effective vascular occlusion.
Clinical studies were performed using our newly devised materials, for 20 patients with malignant hepatic neoplaan: 18 were hepatocellular carcinoma with liver cirrhosis and 2 were metastatic from a breast and from a sigma.
After the embolization, the tutor stain of the liver di sappeared and there was no evidence of recanalization of the supplying arteries of the mass. The clinical effects of the embolization were followed up by CT-scan, laboratory investigations and in some cases, by a follow up angiography or microscopical studies and such proved the effects were excellent.
