Factores asociados a mayor débito de drenaje tras linfadenectomía axilar por cáncer de mama

Abstract

Introduction: Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is still a usual procedure in the treatment of breast cancer. A drain is normally placed in the surgical bed and maintained several days until obtaining a daily discharge of 30-50 ml, in order to reduce the appearance of seroma. The aim of this study was to analyze possible factors associated with an increased drainage volume. Patients and Methods: A retrospective study of all the patients undergoing ALND for breasts cancer at our institution between 2011 and 2012 was performed. Results: 40 females were included. There were no complications or mortality. Median hospital stay was 2 days. Median day of drainage removal was the 5th postoperative day. Mean total drainage volume was 298.9 ± 240.1 ml. High blood pressure associated with an increased drainage volume (550 ml vs 217.5 ml; p = 0.001) and a later removal (8th vs 4th day; p = 0.002). Similar happened with age > 65 years (420.8 ml vs 24.6 ml; p = 0.003) and (7th vs 5th day; p = 0.009). The number of metastatic lymph nodes showed a direct correlation with total drainage volume (Pearson 0.503; p = 0.017) and removal day (Spearman 0.563; p = 0.006), similar to the primary tumour size: Total drainage volume (Pearson 0.447; p = 0.042) and removal day (Spearman 0.556; p = 0.009). Conclusion: Age over 65 years, high blood pressure, number of metastatic lymph nodes and primary tumour size associated with a higher drainage volume and time to remove the drain.