Neuromuscular compression bandage efficacy in preventing seroma following surgical breast cancer treatment

To evaluate the effectiveness of neuromuscular compression bandage in preventing seroma after surgical treatment of breast cancer.

This randomized clinical trial included women over 18 years old undergoing mastectomy. The control group followed the institution's standard routine of using a suction drain, whereas the intervention group was assigned to receive a compressive bandage for 1 week in addition to the drain.

A total of 124 women were assigned to the intervention group and 125 to the control group. There was no statistically significant difference in sociodemographic, clinical, or treatment variables, nor in the incidence of seroma between groups (odds ratio [OR], defined as the ratio between the odds of an event occurring in the intervention group versus the control group = 1.59; 95% CI: 0.91-2.76; p = 0.102). Seroma was the most frequent complication (71.1%). After 7 days, the drain was removed in 66.3% of participants, 53.3% in the control group, and 46.7% in the intervention group (OR = 0.69; 95% CI: 0.41-1.17; p = 0.166). The median total punctured volume was 154 mL. There was no significant difference in the frequency of punctures > 154 mL between the groups (39.8% vs. 60.2%; OR = 1.77; 95% CI: 0.98-3.22; p = 0.059).

The use of a compressive neuromuscular bandage was not effective in preventing seroma after mastectomy.