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CC BY-NC 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2012; 39(05): 504-508
DOI: 10.5999/aps.2012.39.5.504
Original Article

Does Fibrin Sealant Reduce Seroma after Immediate Breast Reconstruction Utilizing a Latissimus Dorsi Myocutaneous Flap?

Han Gyu Cha
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
,
Sang Gue Kang
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
,
Ho Seong Shin
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
,
Moon Seok Kang
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
,
Seung Min Nam
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
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Background The most common complication of latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap in breast reconstruction is seroma formation in the back. Many clinical studies have shown that fibrin sealant reduces seroma formation. We investigated any statistically significant differences in postoperative drainage and seroma formation when utilizing the fibrin sealant on the site of the latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap harvested for immediate breast reconstruction after skin-sparing partial mastectomy.

Methods A total of 46 patients underwent immediate breast reconstruction utilizing a latissimus dorsi myocutaneous island flap. Of those, 23 patients underwent the procedure without fibrin sealant and the other 23 were administered the fibrin sealant. All flaps were elevated with manual dissection by the same surgeon and were analyzed to evaluate the potential benefits of the fibrin sealant. The correlation analysis and Mann-Whitney U test were used for analyzing the drainage volume according to age, weight of the breast specimen, and body mass index.

Results Although not statistically significant, the cumulative drainage fluid volume was higher in the control group until postoperative day 2 (530.1 mL compared to 502.3 mL), but the fibrin sealant group showed more drainage beginning on postoperative day 3. The donor site comparisons showed the fibrin sealant group had more drainage beginning on postoperative day 3 and the drain was removed 1 day earlier in the control group.

Conclusions The use of fibrin sealant resulted in no reduction of seroma formation. Because the benefits of the fibrin sealant are not clear, the use of fibrin sealant must be fully discussed with patients before its use as a part of informed consent.

Keywords

Seroma - Fibrin tissue adhesive - Mastectomy

This article was presented at the 69th congress of the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons on November 11-13, 2011 in Seoul, Korea.




Publication History

Received: 25 March 2012

Accepted: 02 July 2012

Article published online:
01 May 2022

© 2012. The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, permitting unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

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