Quilting of Mastectomy Flaps; a Simple Way to Avoid Postmastectomy Seroma

Mastectomy is still one of the fundamental options for treatment of breast cancer. Postmastectomy seroma formation is a common complication that can lead to significant morbidity. A lot of studies focused on mechanical obliteration of the postmastectomy dead space assuming it is the primary factor for seroma development. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of quilting technique in reducing the incidence of postmastectomy seroma. The study included 800 patients who were randomized into two equal groups; A and B, where quilting has been performed to “group B.” The patients were followed up to measure daily drain output with monitoring of seroma formation in the next 14 days after drain removal. “Group B” showed significant reduction in the mean of fluid drained (246.08 ± 78.94 mL) (P < 0.001) compared with “group A” (664.75 ± 69.43 mL) together with significant reduction in incidence of seroma formation with incidence of 21.75% and 3.5% (P < 0.001) for groups A and B, respectively. Quilting is an effective technique in reducing the incidence of postmastectomy seroma formation.