Postoperative radiographic appearance of intracranial hemostatic gelatin sponge

Hemostatic gelatin sponges were placed in hemispheric defects created in four dogs which were then periodically scanned by computed tomography to determine the post-operative appearance of the sponges. The hemostatic sponges appeared as low attenuation regions for 7-10 days. The attenuation value of these Gelfoam cavities was intermediate between fat and air. Subsequently, clinical cases were selected in which the location of gelatin sponges were known to demonstrate the appearance of the material in patients. In addition to enhancing the accuracy of computed tomographic interpretation, we have found that the gelatin sponge can be useful as a transient computed tomography marker for localization of surgical activity.