Thromboemboli, Acute Right Heart Failure and Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation After Intraoperative Application of a Topical Hemostatic Matrix

Topical hemostatic agents are frequently used in spine surgeries to control or reduce bleeding. Although there are a number of commercially available products, at Our institution, an absorbable gelatin powder (Surgifoam (TM)) is mixed with bovine thrombin and used for this purpose. We report the case of a patient undergoing a posterior spinal fusion for scoliosis who developed acute right heart failure, cardiac arrest, and disseminated intravascular coagulation after probable intravascular hemostatic agent-induced emboli. Clinicians need to be aware of this potentially deadly complication associated with topical hemostatic agents.