Method and apparatus for hemostasis

Abstract

Devices and methods are disclosed for achieving hemostasis in traumatized patients. Such haemostatic packing devices and methods are especially useful in the emergency, trauma surgery or military setting. In such cases, the patient may have received trauma to abdominal viscera, the thoracic cavity or the periphery. The devices utilize fluid impermeable outer surfaces and distributed pressure to achieve tamponade and hemostasis, primarily by exertion of pressure. The devices are flexible, bendable, and conformable in their wet or dry state so that they exert distributed pressure on the wound. Peripheral haemostatic packing devices include optional adhesive structures to attach one packing device to another. The hemostatic packing devices may be placed and removed by open surgery or laparoscopic access without generating excessive re-bleeding. The devices can be inserted into a wound and filled with fluid, gel, or particulates through an axially elongate tube to generate pressure to tamponade the wound.