SeraSeal

Cardiac surgery presents some of the most demanding hemostatic challenges in medicine. The heart and great vessels are under constant pressure, the surgical field is anticoagulated by necessity, and every second of additional bleeding translates directly into additional bypass time, transfusion volume, and risk.

Conventional hemostatic agents are classified as adjuncts -- they assist hemostasis under controlled, limited conditions. In cardiac surgery, conditions are rarely controlled or limited. Diffuse bleeding from suture lines, cannulation sites, and raw tissue surfaces often occurs simultaneously across multiple sites, under full heparinization, in patients whose coagulation systems are already compromised by cardiopulmonary bypass.

SeraSeal has been used in open-heart procedures, coronary artery bypass grafting, valve replacement, and repair of the great vessels. Because it catalyzes the body's coagulation cascade rather than depending on it, it achieves hemostasis even in fully anticoagulated patients. It requires no mixing, no preparation, and no dry field -- conditions that do not exist in cardiac surgery. Applied topically, it stops venous, arterial, and surface bleeding in seconds and is removed cleanly by irrigation, leaving no residue and no tissue damage.

Neurosurgery is defined by inaccessibility. The surgical field is confined, the tissue is fragile, and the margin for error is measured in fractions of a millimeter. Bleeding in the brain or spinal cord cannot be managed with pressure. Cauterization risks thermal injury to neural tissue that does not regenerate. Fibrin sealants require a dry surface that does not exist in the presence of active bleeding.

SeraSeal has been applied in craniotomy, spinal surgery, and tumor resection where conventional hemostatic methods are either ineffective or contraindicated. By catalyzing the intrinsic coagulation cascade on contact, it controls bleeding without heat, without compression, and without a dry field. It is applied directly to the bleeding site, stops hemorrhage within seconds, and clears completely by gentle irrigation, leaving no residue on neural tissue.

In pediatric neurosurgery, where the coagulation system is immature and blood volume is critically small, SeraSeal has demonstrated particular utility. In the multicenter study published in Acta Scientific Gastrointestinal Disorders (Wortham, 2025), pediatric patients treated with SeraSeal showed an 87% reduction in blood loss compared to cauterization.

Orthopedic surgery involves three categories of bleeding that are notoriously difficult to control: bone marrow bleeding, periosteal bleeding, and soft tissue bleeding in highly vascular surgical fields. Joint replacement, spinal fusion, fracture repair, and tumor resection all produce bleeding from surfaces that cannot be clamped, sutured, or effectively cauterized.

SeraSeal stops bone marrow bleeding on contact. Applied directly to the cut bone surface, it catalyzes hemostasis across the exposed marrow without thermal injury, without bone wax (which inhibits healing and carries infection risk), and without packing. In soft tissue dissection, it controls diffuse bleeding from muscle, fascia, and periosteum in seconds. It has been used in total knee and hip replacement, spinal fusion, and complex fracture reconstruction where blood loss is a primary driver of transfusion requirements and surgical time.

Gastrointestinal bleeding is uniquely resistant to conventional control because it occurs in a wet, acidic, constantly moving environment. The mucosal surfaces of the stomach, intestine, and colon bleed diffusely, and the tissue is too fragile for aggressive cauterization. Endoscopic hemostasis depends on visualization, which active bleeding obscures.

SeraSeal was originally validated in gastrointestinal surgery. The multicenter study published in Acta Scientific Gastrointestinal Disorders (Wortham, 2025) demonstrated a mean time to hemostasis of 1.59 minutes with SeraSeal compared to 31.22 minutes with cauterization -- a 95% reduction in hemostasis time. Mean blood loss was reduced by more than 60% across all patient groups.

In endoscopic application, SeraSeal is delivered through the working channel of the endoscope directly to the bleeding site. It achieves hemostasis on contact with mucosal and submucosal bleeding, even in the presence of active hemorrhage, without requiring a dry field or direct pressure. It has been used in upper and lower GI bleeding, polypectomy, biopsy site hemorrhage, and post-surgical anastomotic bleeding.

General surgery encompasses the broadest range of tissue types, surgical approaches, and bleeding scenarios in medicine. From thyroidectomy to hernia repair, from cholecystectomy to bowel resection, general surgeons encounter venous, arterial, and parenchymal bleeding across every tissue plane and organ system.

SeraSeal has been used across the full spectrum of general surgical procedures. Its single-component, ready-to-use format requires no preparation, no mixing, and no dry field. It stops bleeding from soft tissue, organ surfaces, and vascular structures in seconds, and is removed cleanly by irrigation. In procedures where cauterization would risk thermal injury to adjacent structures -- near the recurrent laryngeal nerve in thyroid surgery, near the bile duct in cholecystectomy, near bowel serosa in adhesiolysis -- SeraSeal provides hemostasis without thermal energy and without tissue destruction.

Cesarean section is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures in the world, and hemorrhage remains the leading cause of maternal death globally. Postpartum hemorrhage kills an estimated 70,000 women per year, the vast majority in low-resource settings where blood products are scarce and surgical time is limited.

SeraSeal has been applied to the uterine incision line and surrounding tissue during cesarean delivery, achieving rapid hemostasis of both the incision and diffuse myometrial bleeding. In cases of uterine atony, where the uterus fails to contract and conventional uterotonics are insufficient, SeraSeal provides a mechanical hemostatic barrier that does not depend on uterine tone. It requires no preparation, works in an actively bleeding field, and is removed cleanly by irrigation. For the cesarean patient on anticoagulant therapy or with coagulopathy of pregnancy, it achieves hemostasis without interrupting anticoagulation.

Thyroid surgery and head and neck procedures involve bleeding in confined spaces surrounded by critical structures -- the recurrent laryngeal nerve, the carotid artery, the jugular vein, and the airway itself. Cauterization in these fields carries the risk of thermal injury to structures that cannot tolerate it. Packing and pressure are limited by anatomy. Post-operative bleeding in the neck can rapidly become airway compromise.

SeraSeal has been used in thyroidectomy, parotidectomy, neck dissection, and tonsillectomy. Applied topically to the surgical bed, it halts bleeding rapidly while preserving the integrity of adjacent neural and vascular structures. In tonsillectomy -- where post-operative hemorrhage remains the most feared complication -- SeraSeal provides a hemostatic seal to the tonsillar fossa that does not depend on eschar formation or cautery burn, reducing the risk of delayed bleeding from sloughing.

The creation of a fistula, graft, or temporary vascular access site for hemodialysis involves direct entry into major blood vessels in patients who are, by definition, medically complex. These patients frequently present with uremic platelet dysfunction, are maintained on anticoagulants, and have tissue that is fragile from repeated access and chronic disease. Bleeding at the access site -- during creation, during dialysis sessions, and post-procedurally -- is a persistent clinical problem.

SeraSeal has been applied to dialysis access sites to deliver rapid hemostasis in patients whose coagulation is impaired by both disease and medication. It works without requiring the patient to discontinue anticoagulation therapy, controls bleeding at the puncture or surgical site within seconds, and is removed cleanly without disturbing the underlying vessel repair. For dialysis centers managing hundreds of access-site bleeds per week, SeraSeal reduces both the clinical burden and the per-patient time to hemostasis.

Dental procedures produce bleeding in a uniquely challenging environment: the oral cavity is wet, contaminated with saliva and bacteria, and the patient is awake. Extractions, implant placement, periodontal surgery, and biopsy all produce bleeding that must be controlled quickly, reliably, and without methods that cause additional pain or tissue damage.

SeraSeal has been used in dental and oral surgical procedures to stop bleeding immediately at extraction sites, implant osteotomies, and soft tissue biopsy sites. Applied directly and cleared by gentle irrigation, it eliminates the delays associated with conventional packing and pressure. For the growing population of dental patients maintained on anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy -- patients whose procedures are frequently delayed or whose medications are interrupted at cardiovascular risk -- SeraSeal provides hemostasis without requiring any change to the patient's anticoagulation regimen.

Pediatric patients present unique hemostatic challenges that are fundamentally different from those in adults. Blood volume is small -- a premature neonate may have a total blood volume of 80 milliliters. The coagulation system is immature, particularly in neonates and infants. And the margin between controlled bleeding and life-threatening hemorrhage is measured in milliliters, not units.

SeraSeal has been used in pediatric surgery across multiple specialties including cardiac, neurosurgical, orthopedic, and general pediatric surgery. In the multicenter study (Wortham, Acta Scientific Gastrointestinal Disorders, 2025), pediatric patients treated with SeraSeal showed an 87% reduction in blood loss compared to cauterization -- the largest reduction of any patient subgroup in the study. For neonates and infants, where every milliliter of blood preserved may eliminate the need for transfusion, SeraSeal's ability to achieve hemostasis in seconds without tissue destruction represents a category of clinical benefit that no other hemostatic agent can provide.

Ninety percent of potentially survivable battlefield deaths are caused by hemorrhage. Eighty-six percent of all battlefield fatalities occur within the first thirty minutes of wounding -- the "golden half hour" -- long before a surgeon is available. The tools carried by combat medics and field paramedics must work on any bleed type, immediately, with no preparation, no surgical training, and no controlled environment.

Current field hemostatic agents are granular or gauze-based adjuncts designed for external wound packing. They require direct pressure, sustained application time, and a wound geometry that permits packing. They do not address junctional hemorrhage, truncal bleeding, or internal hemorrhage -- the categories responsible for the majority of preventable battlefield deaths.

SeraSeal's foam canister delivery system is designed for field use. It delivers primary hemostatic capability to the point of wounding, achieving hemostasis on venous, arterial, and mixed bleeding in seconds without pressure, without packing, and without surgical access. It can be applied to junctional wounds, cavity wounds, and blast injuries where gauze packing is ineffective. For military and tactical medicine, SeraSeal is not an improvement to the existing toolkit. It is the addition of a capability that did not previously exist at the point of care.

The world's biggest surgical problem is not equipment. It is time and blood.

Nine out of ten people in low and middle-income countries lack access to safe, timely surgical care. Five billion people live without access to basic surgical services. In sub-Saharan Africa, there is approximately one surgeon per 100,000 people. In parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia, the ratio is not much better.

In these settings, the consequences of surgical bleeding are amplified by every constraint of the system. Blood banks are under-resourced or nonexistent. Transfusion carries risks -- HIV, Hepatitis B and C -- that are orders of magnitude higher than in high-income countries. Operating rooms are shared, and every additional minute of surgical time delays the next patient. Anesthesia capacity is limited, and prolonged procedures increase the risk of complications that the system is not equipped to manage.

SeraSeal has been deployed worldwide precisely because bleeding does not observe the boundaries of healthcare infrastructure. In settings where a unit of blood may not be available, where surgical time is the scarcest resource, and where the difference between a 30-minute procedure and a 60-minute procedure may determine whether the next patient is seen today or next week, a hemostatic agent that cuts bleeding time by 95% and reduces blood loss by 60% is not a convenience. It is infrastructure.

The cost-per-minute-saved analysis changes dramatically when the baseline cost of surgical time is $1.75 per minute instead of $62. But the clinical value -- the blood preserved, the complications avoided, the life saved -- does not change at all. SeraSeal's impact is greatest where the need is greatest.