Fibrin glue has been used on its own or in conjunction with suturing materials to promote hemostasis, reduce adherence, strengthen the wound site, and improve healing. Snake venom derived fibrin glue was evaluated as an alternative to conventional uterine suturing after ovine caesarean surgery. Twenty-eight pregnant ewes of known mating date were used. The animals submitted to conventional caesarean sections showed a better wound healing process. As expected, all the operated animals had retained placenta, compromising coaptation of wound edges. This had a strong influence in the results observed with the animals in which fibrin glue was used. The animals were divided into four groups GI, GII, GIII, and GIV and sacrificed, respectively, 3, 7, 15, and 30 days after surgery for macro and microscopic examination of the uterus. From each group, six animals underwent surgery using fibrin glue and four animals were submitted to comparative conventional hysterorrhaphy using catgut.

Sequelae due to testicular biopsy such as hemorrhage, adhesion and fibrosis may be limiting factors to the use of this surgical procedure. Fibrin glue (FG) derived from snake venom was used to minimize these sequelae, as well as to evaluate its healing property in tunica vaginalis and scrotal skin of rams. Applicability of fibrin glue derived from snake venom was tested in different tissues of other animals such as in sciatic nerve and colon of rats and skin of rabbits. In the present study, 30 healthy adult rams were used. They were divided into 3 groups of 10 animals each as follows: G1: fibrin glue group (application of fibrin glue on puncture sites and skin incisions after bilateral testicular biopsy with a Tru-Cut needle); G2: swab/nylon group (hemostasis by compression with a swab on puncture sites and skin suturing with nylon after biopsy) and G3: control group (the animals were not subjected either to biopsy or to surgery). On the 20<IMG SRC="Image485.gif" WIDTH=10 HEIGHT=17> day after biopsy, the presence of adhesion strands between the sites of skin incision and testicle was evaluated by palpation. Adhesion strands were found in three testicles (15%) in G1 and in two testicles (10%) in G2. One hundred days after biopsy, orchiectomy was carried out and the material collected was assessed for subcutaneous (SC) and/or tunica vaginalis adhesions. G3 did not present any abnormality. Groups G1 and G2 presented four testicles each (20%) with adhesion between the tunics at biopsy site. On the other hand, subcutaneous adhesions were found once (5%) in G1 and three times (15%) in G2. Fibrin glue showed to be of easy application, required short postoperative monitoring, presented fast and good-quality healing property and tended to reduce formation of subcutaneous adhesion.