The goal of interventional endoscopy is to definitively stop the bleeding and at the same time promote the healing of life-threatening bleeding ulcers. Until now, however, this goal has not been fully achieved. The breakthrough came only with the submucousal (or subulcerous) injection of highly concentrated fibrinogen and thrombin--the so-called fibrin glue. Upon mixing, both substances initiate phase 3 in the blood clotting reaction. A mechanically strong and stable 'fibrin clot' is produced, which is strongly anchored into the tissue, not only sealing the vessel but also inducing the tissue-repair mechanisms. Due to the 'bio-identical' properties of the procedure, the injection (in contrast to the other injection methods) can be harmlessly repeated as often as required in order to achieve an especially favourable and stable distribution of the glue. Moreover, the property of being non-harmful to tissue has allowed the development of a comprehensive therapy system utilising submucousal fibrin glueing. And within the realm of a close-knit series of endoscopy examinations, the regluing can be performed as often as necessary. This occurs in the case of persistent bleeding stigmata but also prophylactically in non-bleeding cases, and therefore a real opportunity is present to prevent a relapse in bleeding.
