WEDNESDAY, Feb. 4, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first tissue adhesive for internal use.
Known as TissuGlu, surgeons can use the urethane-based adhesive to connect tissue flaps created during surgery to remove extra fat or skin, or to restore weak or separated abdominal muscles (abdominoplasty). The new adhesive may reduce or eliminate the need for surgical drains to remove fluid between such flaps, the agency said in a news release.
"The FDA's approval of the first synthetic adhesive for internal use will help some abdominoplasty patients get back to their daily routine after surgery more quickly than if surgical drains had been inserted," William Maisel, M.D., M.P.H., deputy director for science at the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement.
The product was evaluated in a clinical trial of 130 people who had elective abdominoplasty, half of whom received TissuGlu with no surgical drains and half of whom received surgical drains. Among the TissuGlu group, 73 percent did not need any postoperative interventions to drain fluid, the FDA said.
TissuGlu is produced by Cohera Medical, based in Pittsburgh.
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