Floseal® use in dermatologic surgical management of vascular malformations: A novel haemostatic agent in Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

A vascular malformation is a congenital growth of artery, venous, capillary or lymphatic vessels leading to functional and aesthetic problems. Although surgical maneuvers allow correction of abnormalities, it poses risk of intra and post-operative blood loss. Sealants have been used during surgical procedures to reduce blood loss. A descriptive study was conducted on a new generation Floseal® to demonstrate its effectiveness to reduce intra and post-operative bleeding during vascular malformation corrective surgery. A group of 19 patients presented with vascular malformations and underwent surgical correction associated with Floseal® use. The mean age of our patients’ was 12.3 years (1 to 33 years). The majority of them (57.6%) were aged between 5 to 15 years. The most common vascular malformation treated was hemangioma (45.5%). Majority of these lesions were located on the head (72.7%). Blood transfusion was not accounted for in any of the cases as average blood loss was 18.18 mL (5 to 70 mL). The average length of hospital stay was 2.4 days. Ten patients (90.9%) were discharged in 2 days after drain was removed. Floseal®, a new generation local haemostatic, is easy to use and efficient to achieve haemostasis for treatment of vascular malformation. Haemostasis was achieved in a short time and blood loss was minimal. However, caution should be taken to reduce allergic reactions and potential viral transmissions, and further study should be done to recommend its use.