Ferric sulfate hemostasis: effect on osseous wound healing. II. With curettage and irrigation.

Hemorrhage control is often a problem for the clinician during osseous surgery. Ferric sulfate is an effective hemostatic agent, but with prolonged application to an osseous defect can cause persistent inflammation and delayed healing. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effectiveness of ferric sulfate as a hemostatic agent and to determine its effect on healing after thorough curettage and irrigation from osseous surgical wounds. Standard size osseous defects were created bilaterally in the mandibles of rabbits. Ferric sulfate was placed in one defect until hemostasis was obtained; the contralateral defect was allowed to fill with blood and clot. After 5 min both defects were curetted and irrigated. The repair of the defects was evaluated histologically at 18 and 46 days. There were no significant differences between the ferric sulfate-treated defects and the untreated controls. When adequately curetted and irrigated from the surgical site prior to closure, ferric sulfate did not cause persistent inflammation or delay osseous repair in comparison to controls.