Wound healing following mastectomy.

Local complications following mastectomy are of considerable importance if peri-operative chemotherapy is to be used. A retrospective survey of 100 patients following Patey mastectomy was therefore undertaken to investigate problems associated with wound healing in the absence of such therapy. The survey showed that 18% of patients developed postoperative wound infection, this being severe in 50% of cases. Varying degrees of total wound breakdown occurred in 9% of patients while delayed healing occurred in a further 5%. The incidence of seroma was 25%, and the majority of these patients required further drainage. There was a significant association between seroma formation and wound infection (P less than 0.05). The mean length of hospital stay in patients without wound infection was 11.7 days, but was increased to 27.3 days when infection occurred (P less than 0.001).