[Seroma formation and drainage technic following mastectomy]

Although seromas represent the most frequent postoperative complication of mastectomy, little attention has been paid in the literature to etiologic factors or therapy. In the present paper, a modified drainage technique is described which reduced the incidence of seroma formation after total mastectomy with removal of the axillary lymph nodes from 50% to 20.2%. Seroma formation was associated with drainage of significantly higher amounts of fluid. Seroma formation generally began on the 7th day after operation, reached a peak rate of growth on the 8th day, and subsequently slowed continuously up to the 16th day after operations. Age was revealed to be a very important etiologic factor: the frequency of seroma formation increasing with age.