Evaluation of seromas in postmastectomy breast reconstruction: A retrospective observational study

BACKGROUND: To evaluate seroma complications, two techniques were carried out in breast reconstruction: conventional latissimus dorsi flap (CLD) and muscle-sparing latissimus dorsi flap (MSLD) after cancer-related mastectomy. METHODS: A total of 108 postmastectomy procedures were performed with autologous tissue reconstruction with latissimus dorsi flaps (LDs) between January 2016 and May 2020. The patients were divided into two groups. The first group was reconstruction with the CLD, and the second group was reconstruction with the MSLD. Forty (40) patients in the first group and 68 patients in the second group were analyzed. Seroma formation was evaluated as the primary outcome. RESULTS: The total number of seromas found in the donor area was 27, of which 45% (n = 18) were found with the CLD and 13.24% (n = 9) with the MSLD, with a difference of 31.76% in favor of the MSLD, with an 95% CI of 14–49 (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We found a significantly lower incidence of seroma as a complication in patients who underwent MSLD breast reconstruction compared with those who underwent CLD breast reconstruction.