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Investigating the effect of suture flap fixation on seroma formation in breast cancer patients undergoing mastectomy

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Abstract

Background

Seroma formation is the most frequent postoperative early or late complication observed in patients after mastectomy. Various methods have been investigated to prevent or reduce seroma formation, some of which have been proven effective while others have been ineffective. This study examined the effect of suture flap fixation in seroma formation.

Methods

This prospective observational study was conducted in 2019–2020 including 120 patients with breast cancer who were candidates of mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection. Sixty patients receive sutures with flap fixation and 60 had conventional sutures. The volume of seroma, drain dwell duration and late seroma formation after drain removal were recorded. Data were analysed using SPSS V.24.

Results

Statistical comparison of two groups indicated a significant difference in seroma volume (142 cc in the flap fixation (ff) vs 354 cc in conventional (con) group, p = 0.0005), drain dwell duration (shorter than a week in 90% of patients in the ff group vs 48.3% in the second group) and late seroma formation (1.66% in the ff group vs 38.3% in the con group). Neoadjuvant chemotherapy, breast size and having triple-negative breast cancer had significant association with seroma formation (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Flap fixation does not cause completely prevent of seroma formation, but it significantly reduces seroma, the number of days of drainage and late seroma formation.

Level of evidence: Level III, risk / prognostic study.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are not openly available due to reasons of sensitivity and are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This study has been supported by the Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Leyla Shojaee & Sohrab Sayyadi

  2. Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Rohollah Amani & Abbas Nezamtabar Malekshah

Authors
  1. Leyla Shojaee
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  2. Sohrab Sayyadi
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  3. Rohollah Amani
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  4. Abbas Nezamtabar Malekshah
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sohrab Sayyadi.

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This study has been approved by the ethics committee of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences (IR.MAZUMS.IMAMHOSPITAL.REC.1398.150).

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Consent to publish

Consent to publish the data has been obtained from all participants included in the study.

Conflict of interests

Leyla Shojaee, Sohrab Sayyadi, Rohollah Amani and Abbas Nezamtabar Malekshah declare no competing interests.

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Shojaee, L., Sayyadi, S., Amani, R. et al. Investigating the effect of suture flap fixation on seroma formation in breast cancer patients undergoing mastectomy. Eur J Plast Surg 46, 1093–1098 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00238-023-02109-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00238-023-02109-6

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