Wound complications following modified radical mastectomy: an analysis of perioperative factors.

To assess the effect of perioperative factors on the incidence of postoperative wound complications, the authors retrospectively analyzed 101 patients who had undergone modified radical mastectomy. These factors included age, body weight, operative techniques, estimated blood loss, wound-catheter drainage, extent of axillary dissection, nodal involvement, and length of hospital stay. Complications included seroma (10.9%), wound infection (8.9%), wound necrosis (5%), hematoma (3%), lymphedema (2%), and pneumothorax (1%). The logistic regression method was used to analyze the data. When electrocautery was used to create the skin flaps, the probability of a wound complication was .462, a 44% increase over that calculated for the cold-knife technique (P = .05). A prolonged hospitalization accompanied the occurrence of a wound complication. No other factors reached statistical significance.