Incidence of postoperative complications in patients with breast cancer depending on the type of drain.

Introduction: Postoperative complications in patients with breast cancer delay the initiation of adjuvant therapy, prolong the length of hospitalization and reduce the patients' quality of life. Although their incidence can be influenced by many factors, the connection with the type of drain is insufficiently studied in the literature. The aim of this study was to assess whether there is an association between the use of a different drainage system and the occurrence of postoperative complications.

Methods: The data of 183 patients included in this retrospective study were collected from the information system of the Silesian Hospital in Opava and then statistically analyzed. These patients were divided into two groups according to the type of drain used - a Redon drain (active drainage) was used in 96 patients, and a capillary drain (passive drainage) was used in 87 patients. The incidence of seromas and hematomas, the duration of drainage and the amount of wound drainage were compared between the individual groups.

Results: The incidence of postoperative hematomas was 22.92% in the group of patients with the Redon drain, and 10.34% in patients with the capillary drain (p=0.024). The incidence of postoperative seromas was comparable for the Redon drain (39.6%) or the capillary drain (35.6%) (p=0.945). No statistically significant differences were found in the drainage time or the amount of wound drainage.

Conclusion: A statistically significantly lower incidence of postoperative hematomas was observed when using a capillary drain compared to the use of a Redon drain in patients after breast cancer surgery. The drains were comparable with respect to seroma formation. None of the studied drains was significantly more beneficial in terms of the total drainage time and the total amount of wound drainage.

Key Words: breast cancer, postoperative complications, drain, hematoma.