Persistent inguinal seroma managed with sprinkling of talcum powder: a case report

We present a new method to treat recurrent seromas, which is based on our experience with a patient who had recurrent groin seroma and was treated successfully with a sprinkling of talcum powder in the seroma cavity.

A 67-year-old Caucasian man with a suprapubic recurrent right groin hernia underwent inguinal hernioplasty with a polypropylene plug. Three days later the patient presented with a right groin fluctuating mass beneath the surgical wound with no signs of infection, and was discharged after seroma aspiration. After 23 days of increasing drainage, the seroma cavity was thoroughly dried with clean gauze swabs, and four g of sterilized dry talcum powder was sprinkled into the seroma cavity with a five-cc syringe. A compressive dressing was placed, and the patient was discharged. One week after the sprinkling of talcum powder, the surgical wound was almost closed with only minimal oozing from the drainage incision. The patient did not report any adverse effects. Two weeks later, the wound was fully healed.

Talcum powder sprinkling could be an effective, quick, and safe method for the treatment of inguinal seromas after inguinal hernioplasty when conservative management has failed. Nevertheless, larger series are needed before assessing this technique as the treatment of choice.