Clinical application of soft polyglycolic acid felt for hemostasis and repair of a lacerated liver: Report of two cases

The mainstay of treatment for blunt or sharp liver trauma is conservative in 50%-80% of cases. When surgery is indicated, it is demanding and associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Felt has been used extensively in cardiothoracic and vascular surgery to seal stitches and exposed surfaces. We describe how we used soft polyglycolic acid (PGA) felt to stop bleeding of a lacerated liver in two patients. To our knowledge, this is the first report of PGA felt being used to repair a lacerated liver. The main advantage of this felt lies in its combined effect of compressing the wound edges and applying a sealant that cannot be washed away. We compare soft PGA felt repair with the standard surgical approaches, including compression with packing or wrapping and local hemostasis with hemostatic felt or fibrin glue.