The use of sealants in modern thoracic surgery: A survey

The indications for the resort to sealants during thoracic surgery are still controversial w1x. The multiplicity of commercially available products, the lack of consistent, irrefutable evidence for their efficacy and the delicate relationship with industry call for a clarification of the status quo within the thoracic surgical community. The results of a survey conducted during the proceedings of a Satellite Symposium taking place during the last 2006 joint EACTS-ESTS meeting in Stockholm are hereafter reported. Two hundred and forty participants to a Satellite Symposium on the use of a specific, commercially available, sealant were asked to anonymously respond through a power-vote system to six multiple-choice questions aimed at establishing the current standards of practice. No additional demographic data nor information on professional experience were required to participate in the survey. The answers were collected via an electronic (‘power vote’) system and displayed by percentage at the end of the questionnaire (see Figures). The analysis of the results was as follows (Figs. 1–3).