A detailed review of management of coronary perforations by gelfoam closure

The Closure of Grade 1 Coronary Perforation by the Snowplow Phenomenon

We report an extremely rare case of spontaneous closure of grade 1 coronary perforation by the snowplow phenomenon during the revascularization of a subtotal occlusion in the left anterior descending coronary artery. Coronary artery perforation is usually a nightmare during coronary intervention in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. While large coronary perforation requires the deployment of a covered stent, small perforations require heparin reversal, prolonged balloon inflation, deployment of small coils, or gel foam closure. The coronary segment with a small perforation was stented with a drug-eluting stent (DES), which might have resulted in the shifting of the fatty plaque toward the perforation and subsequently sealing the coronary perforation.

Biomaterials as Haemostatic Agents in Cardiovascular Surgery: Review of Current Situation and Future Trends

Intraoperative haemostasis is of paramount importance in the practice of cardiovascular surgery. Over the past 70 years, topical haemostatic methods have advanced significantly and today we deal with various haemostatic agents with different properties and different mechanisms of action. The particularity of coagulation mechanisms after extracorporeal circulation, has encouraged the introduction of new types of topic agents to achieve haemostasis, where conventional methods prove their limits. These products have an important role in cardiac, as well as in vascular, surgery, mainly in major vascular procedures, like aortic dissections and aortic aneurysms. This article presents those agents used for topical application and the mechanism of haemostasis and offers general recommendations for their use in the operating room.