Seroma prevention using fibrin glue in a rat mastectomy model
W. H. Lindsey, T. M. Masterson, W. D. Spotnitz, M. C. Wilhelm and R. F. Morgan
Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville 22908.
Seromas are a frequent complication of mastectomy (17% to 53%) in humans
and are correlated to skin flap elevation, lymphovascular interruption, and
drainage into surgically created potential spaces. The use of
intraoperative topical fibrin glue to reduce morbidity in rats undergoing
radical mastectomies has been evaluated. A model consistently producing
seromas was developed by radical mastectomy and lymphadenectomy in the
Sprague-Dawley rat. A fibrin glue application procedure was tested using
this model. The double-blinded protocol called for spray application of
saline or fibrin glue to mastectomy wounds followed by sequential
inspection and necropsy on postoperative days 5, 8, 11, and 14. Topical
fibrin glue was shown to be statistically significant in decreasing the
presentation of seromas following a radical mastectomy in the
Sprague-Dawley rat.