FDA Approves Revolutionary Treatment For Gunshot Wounds

Jonah Bennett

The Food and Drug Administration has approved an incredibly innovative syringe that can seal a deadly gunshot wound in seconds for civilian use.

The military has already benefited greatly from the use of the syringe, called XStat, which works to stop bleeding in situations where tourniquets don’t, reported Tech Insider.

The device works by injecting about 92 tiny sponges into the target area that immediately expand and quickly stops the bleeding. The sponges are made from wood pulp, ensuing they don’t dissolve inside the body, and are coated in antimicrobial material. If they get stuck inside, X-rays can easily identify them.

This lifesaving invention, manufactured by a company in Oregon called RevMedx, was quickly approved for use by the military in 2014. Bleeding or hemorrhaging is the single most prominent cause of death among troops in the battlefield.

In civilian cases, 40 percent of deaths from severe trauma occur from blood loss. Anywhere from a sizeable amount to a bare majority of deaths occur before the patient reaches the hospital. Time is of the essence in these cases, and patients need every second they can get.

The syringe solution is only temporary — the sponges last for about 4 hours — but it gives the soldiers a decent amount of time to get to a hospital for surgery.

“When a product is developed for use in the battlefield, it is generally intended to work in a worst-case scenario where advanced care might not be immediately available,” William Maisel, acting director of the Office of Device Evaluation in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a press release. “It is exciting to see this technology transition to help civilian first responders control some severe, life-threatening bleeding while on the trauma scene.”

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