A systematic examination of the effect of tissue glues on rhytidectomy complications

Abstract

Backg round: Fibrin glue has wides pread use in multiple fi elds of surgery. There have been numerous studies on the use of fi brin glue in facelifts, with no consensus regarding diffe ren ces in outcomes. Objectives: Th is study compa red the risk of hematoma, seroma, and the 24-hour drainage volume in all published prospecti ve controlled trials. Methods: A MEDLINE search of English-lang uage articles on fi brin glue and rhyt idectomy published up to July 2013 yielde d 49 citations. After screening, we examine d 7 relevant controlled trials. The DerSim onian and Laird random-effec ts mode l was used to perform the meta-a nalysis. Results: Seven controlled trials measuring the outcomes of fi brin glue in facelifts were used to estimate the pooled relative risk of complications and confi dence interva ls. Hematoma formation was four times less likely with the use of fi brin glue (relative risk 0.25, P =.002). There was no signifi ca nt reduction in seroma formation (relative risk 0.56, P =.19). There was not enough data to prope rly m easure 24-hour drainage and ecchym oses. Conclusio ns: This analysis sug gests that fi brin glue reduces the rates of hematoma formation, but does not signifi can tly reduce the rates of seroma development.