Comparison of efficacy of flap anchoring with suction drains alone after modified radical mastectomy

Aim: to compare efficacy of flap anchoring with suction drains alone after modified radical mastectomy. methods: a total of 200 females (100 in each group),between 30-70 years of age undergoing modified radical mastectomy for carcinoma breast and american society of anaesthesiology (asa) i and ii status were included in the study. this multi-centre study was done at arif & idrees teaching hospital sialkot and services hospital lahore from 1st june 2016 to 31st december 2016. we used random allocation i.e. lottery method,patients were divided into two groups: group a received filleting stitches; mastectomy flaps were fixed to underlying muscles,at various parts of the flap and at wound edges using fine absorbable sutures. in group b wound was closed by conventional method at edges. two closed suction drains were used in both groups: one was placed in axilla and second under the skin flap. drains were removed when amount of drained fluid is less than 50 ml in preceding 24 hours. results: out of 200 cases with mean age was calculated as 41.11±8.30 years. comparison of the efficacy of flap anchoring with suction drains alone after modified radical mastectomy was recorded as 88(88%) in group-a and 68(68%) in group-b while remaining 12(12%) in group-a and 32(32%) in group-b had seroma formation,p value was 0.0006. conclusion: flap anchoring is significantly more effective when compared with suction drains alone after modified radical mastectomy.