-Report on Experiments and Clinical Cases-

An Analysis of Factors That Influence the Duration of Suction Drainage in Breast Cancer Surgery

Shinya Iida¹, Kiyonori Furukawa^1,2, Keiko Yanagihara¹, Reiko Iwasaki¹, Tomoko Kurita¹, Shinichi Tsuchiya³, Zenya Naito⁴, Shunsuke Haga¹ and Takashi Tajiri¹

¹Surgery for Organ Function and Biological Regulation, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School
²Department of Surgery, Nippon Medical School Chiba Hokusoh Hospital
³Division of Diagnostic Pathology, Nippon Medical School Hospital
⁴Department of Integrative Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School

Background: The duration of suction drainage in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery is difficult to predict. The uncertainty this poses may complicate the development of a clinical pathway for patients with breast cancer. In this study we attempted to identify factors that may influence the duration of suction drainage in patients undergoing breast cancer surgery.
Methods: We examined the relationships between the duration of suction drainage and several clinical factors including type of drainage tube in 60 patients with primary breast cancer who underwent surgical resection at the Nippon Medical School Hospital in 2004 and 2005. The drainage tubes were removed 1 day after the daily drainage volume had decreased to less than 50 mL or on the seventh postoperative day in patients in whom such a decrease did not occur. All patients were discharged from the hospital 1 or 2 days after the drains were removed.
Results: Seroma was observed in all patients. No complications associated with the drainage were observed. The median duration of drainage was 4.5 days, and the range was 2 to 7 days. Univariate analyses revealed significant relationships between the duration of drainage and the following 5 factors: patient age at surgery, body mass index, intraoperative blood loss, operation time, and type of surgery (total breast resection or partial breast resection). Univariate and multivariate analyses showed no significant statistical associations between the duration of drainage and the other factors, including the type of drainage tube.
Conclusion: None of the factors examined was strongly associated with the duration of drainage. This study has shown that any type of drainage tube can be used in breast cancer surgery, in regards to the duration of drainage, and that patient discharge 1 or 2 days after drainage tube removal is appropriate.

J Nippon Med Sch 2008; 75: 332-336

Keywords
breast cancer, drainage, seroma

Correspondence to
Shinya Iida, Department of Surgery, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8603, Japan
shinya1s@nms.ac.jp

Received, April 7, 2008
Accepted, September 9, 2008