Clinical trial evaluating the results of breast reduction with ancillary lipoplasty

Suction-assisted lipoplasty (SAL) may be used in breast reduction either alone or as an adjunct to standard reduction mammaplasty procedures. Although adequate results have been attained through breast reduction with ancillary lipoplasty, the safety of this procedure has not been evaluated.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate outcomes in breast reduction surgery complemented with lipoplasty of the breast area.

A prospective, randomized double-blinded trial with 2 study groups was designed. A total of 25 patients were included in the control group (without SAL) and 25 in the active group (with SAL). Lipoplasty of the breast area was performed using the tumescent technique. Neither lipoplasty of the surrounding breast area nor other surgical procedures were performed. The primary outcome measure was the complication rate; the secondary outcomes were the clinical data from the patient and the surgical and aesthetic results. For comparison of paired variables, linear or logistic regression models were used with an alpha level of 5% for statistical significance.

The 2 groups were comparable with respect to sex, body mass index, comorbidities and smoking habits, but the active group (with SAL) was younger (P = .351). The overall complication rate was higher in the group that underwent reduction mammaplasty with SAL (18% vs. 6%, P = .0324), in which a higher incidence of dehiscence and tissue necrosis was observed. There were no differences with respect to aesthetic outcome.

In this study, breast reduction with ancillary lipoplasty resulted in a higher rate of complications when compared to reduction mammaplasty with no lipoplasty. Caution must be used when applying SAL in the pedicle, under the nipple-areola complex, or in the pillars during a standard reduction mammaplasty.