A surgical procedure pioneered by Calgary researchers that uses a revolutionary superglue can improve the recovery of heart patients recovering from open-chest surgery, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society reports.

The glue, dubbed Kryptonite, is being used to enhance the closure of the breastbone after surgery and perhaps one day, to take the place of steel wire that is traditionally used to close up the bone.

Dr. Paul Fedak, a cardiac surgeon at the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta at Foothills Hospital Medical Centre, says the new superglue has properties like natural bone and allows for new bone growth. It also hardens quickly. Doctors say that within 24 hours, it is as hard as natural bone.

The researchers say this glue could change the way that the 29,000 surgeries requiring cutting open the sternum are performed each year in Canada.

Heart patient Victor Haddad agreed to test the new super surgical glue to fuse his chest bone after open heart surgery.

Haddad had expected serious post-operative pain after the surgery but he felt none.

"It's like I had this operation and I can see the marks down my chest, but shouldn't it hurt? It didn't hurt at all," he told CTV News.

When the traditional wire is used in open heart surgeries, the sternum takes 6 to 8 weeks to heal and can cause considerable pain.

"You can imagine every time you breathe or cough, the bone tries to pull apart," said Fedak.

With Kryptonite, patients appear to heal much faster.

Researchers are presenting this weekend the findings of a study on 55 heart surgery patients -- 25 received the standard treatment of wire closure; 30 were given wires along with the glue.

"They had significantly less pain in the post-operative period. They required less strong narcotic painkillers," said Fedak. They were also able to breathe more deeply, a marker for improved recovery.

They also recovered in roughly half the time.

Dr. George Christakis, a cardiac surgeon at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, has used Kryptonite on a half-dozen heart surgery patients -- considered high risk because they had weakened bones, or wide chests that hinders recovery.

"The results were terrific, they were unbelievable," he said. "Usually within 24 hours it is rock solid … we've seen it, even sooner."

"Sometimes after a couple of hours after the operation it feels like you can dance on a person's chest. It's so strong."

He said the stability the glue adds does reduce the need for pain medications.

"One patient needed no painkillers, just Tylenol, and he was out of the hospital in four days," said Christakis.

He added that hospitals should start using it now on patients at high risk of post-operative complications related to bones.

The product is approved for use in Canada, but it is not in widespread use, likely because of the cost.

The problem -- it adds about $500 to the cost of an operation. So studies are underway to confirm whether adding it will cut other costs as patients leave hospital sooner, with fewer complications. Doctors are planning a randomized controlled trial on 2,000 patients across North America.

"If we can get patients out of the hospital earlier, if they have less complications … if we can avoid some of those and prevent them, it's beneficial for the health care system," said Fedak.

Haddad said he felt Kryptonite speeded his recovery "immensely." He returned to work six weeks after his operation, and was out golfing long before his friends who have had conventional heart surgery. Haddad believes it was the super glue that made the difference.

With a report from CTV medical correspondent Avis Favaro and producer Elizabeth St. Philip