abstract |
Disclosed is a method for preparing a collagen sponge, comprising mixing air with a collagen gel to obtain a collagen foam to be dried. From the resulting dried product, a collagen sponge is obtained by isolating a portion of the sponge having a chamber diameter greater than 0.75 mm and less than 4 mm or a chamber having an average diagonal dimension of 3 mm. Collagen sponges may be used as a material for sealing wounds, possibly with a coating containing fibrin glue, such as a combination of fibrinogen, thrombin, and aprotinin. An apparatus for extracting a portion of a collagen foam and for denaturing another portion of the collagen foam into a collagen gel is disclosed. An elongated collagen sponge with a pierced hole or perforation and a flexible wall may be used to re-establish the wall in the mammalian gastrointestinal tract or trachea. |