Using Drain-Free Flap Fixation Techniques Versus Traditional Wound Closure With Drain Placement to Prevent Seroma Formation and Its Complications in Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Mastectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

During the past decade, there has been some controversy related to using flap fixation techniques instead of conventional wound closure methods and drain placement during mastectomy procedures. The purpose of our study was to address this controversy using a systematic review and meta-analysis of current published literature. Nineteen studies met our inclusion criteria. Our sample population consisted of 2,956 participants divided into two groups. The study group (SG) consisted of 1,418 individuals and the control group (CG) consisted of 1,538 participants. We found there was a significant reduction in the incidence of seroma formation (odds ratio [OR] = 0.35; 95% confidence interval, CI [0.3, 0.42]; p < .000) and surgical site infection (OR = 0.65; 95% CI [0.48, 0.88]; p = .006) in the SG compared with the CG. The length of hospital stay was also significantly reduced in the SG (0.59 days; 95% CI [0.73, 0.46]; χ 2 [6, N = 502] = 52.88; p < .000) compared with the CG. The results of our study show that using a flap fixation technique after mastectomy can decrease the patient's risk for seroma formation and surgical site infection while reducing their length of hospital stay. Further studies with longer follow-up periods are warranted to evaluate long-term complications associated with using a flap fixation technique compared with using conventional wound closure techniques and drain placement.

Comparing Early-Stage Breast Cancer Patients with Sentinel Lymph Node Metastasis with and without Completion Axillary Lymph Node Dissection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Currently, the standard method for staging and treatment of axillary lymph nodes for early-stage breast cancer is sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), while axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is used in cases with palpable axillary lymph nodes or positive SLNB cases. The aim of this review was to compare overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and axillary recurrence in early-stage breast cancer patients underwent SLNB or SLNB and completion ALND. METHODS: The databases of PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library were searched using the key words of "breast cancer", "axillary lymph node dissection", and "sentinel lymph node dissection". In addition, other sources were searched for ongoing studies (i.e., clinicaltrials.gov). The clinical trials were evaluated based on the Jadad quality criteria, and cohort studies were evaluated according to the STROBE criteria. At the end of the search, the articles were screened independently by two reviewers to check their eligibility to be included in the study. Afterwards, the data were extracted independently by two researchers. RESULTS: After searching the databases, 169 papers were retrieved. However, after removing the duplicates and studying the titles and abstracts of these papers, only ten ones underwent further investigation. After reading full-text of each article, four studies were finalized. Following a manual search, 27 papers were entered into the study for the final evaluation, 11 of which were included in the meta-analysis based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The findings showed no significant differences in OS, DFS, and axillary recurrence in early-stage breast cancer patients underwent SLNB or SLNB and completion ALND. CONCLUSION: The findings did not confirm that ALND improved OS, DFS, and axillary recurrence in patients who were clinically node-negative and positive SLNB.

Comparison of short-term postoperative complications of thyroidectomy using ligature and suture ligation.

BACKGROUND: Thyroidectomy is one of the most common forms of operations in general surgery. Regarding the status and importance of thyroidectomy and protective measures for avoiding the surgical complications, we aimed at investigating the short-term postoperative complications of thyroidectomy by applying the two methods of ligature use and suture ligation of vessels. SETTINGS: Department of Surgery, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This Double-blind randomized clinical trial study conducted on 140 candidates of thyroidectomy. The patients were randomlyequally allocated assigned to two groups of 70. In the ligature group, thyroidectomy was performed via ligature use, and in the suture ligation group, it was done with suture ligature. Using a specific questionnaire, the required demographic information, type of surgical operation, duration of surgery, rate of bleeding, the preoperative and postoperative serum calcium concentration, hypocalcemia symptoms, hoarseness, and laryngoscopic findings were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: The findings revealed that the average time of total and subtotal thyroidectomy lasted 93.94 ± 10.53 min with ligature use and 134.15 ± 13.57 min with suture ligation. No case of postoperative bleeding was observed in this study. Two patients (17.1%) in the suture ligation group and two patients in the ligature group showed signs of hypocalcemia. Six patients developed hoarseness of whom five belonged to the ligature group and one belonged to the suture ligation group. CONCLUSIONS: Regarding the fact that on the whole, duration of thyroidectomy was shorter in ligature approach compared to the suture ligation, it can be considered as a suitable method to substitute suture ligation. However, meticulous precautions should be taken specifically with regard to the efferent laryngeal nerve and hoarseness.