The Use of Hemostatic Agents to Decrease Bleeding Complications in General Plastic Surgery Procedures

Within plastic surgery, hematomas and seromas are frequently reported complications that can negatively impact wound healing and result in significant morbidity in patients. As a result, there has been considerable interest in hemostatic agents to complement traditional methods of hemostasis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate postoperative bleeding complications and duration of Jackson-Pratt (JP) drain use in general plastic surgery procedures with and without hemostatic agents. METHODS: After obtaining institutional review board approval, a retrospective chart review was performed. Patients who underwent bilateral breast reduction, panniculectomy, or abdominoplasty were included. Data collected included indication for surgery, type of operation, use of hemostatic agent, specifically fibrin sealant (FS, EVICEL, Ethicon, USA) or combination powder (CP, HEMOBLAST Bellows, Biom’up, France), length of follow-up, time to JP drain removal, postoperative complications, and specimen weight. This was a consecutive experience where initially no hemostatic agent was used, followed by use of FS, and then CP. RESULTS: The use of a hemostatic agent resulted in reduced time duration for JP drain use and overall fewer recorded complications in the hemostatic agent groups. Although not significant, the hemostatic agent group (FS and CP) experienced fewer hematomas and seromas compared with the nonhemostatic agent group. JP drain duration was significantly less among breast reduction (3.46 versus 6.92 days, P < 0.01) for CP when compared with FS. CONCLUSION: The use of hemostatic agents in general plastic surgery procedures may result in decreased postoperative complications and significantly reduce time to JP drain removal.