Summary:
Seroma, with its secondary complications, represents one of the major unsolved problems in direct to implant breast reconstruction with acellular dermal matrix. The seroma formation not only represents a complication, but causes other secondary complications such as major infections, surgical dehiscence, and implant loss. These lead to the failure of the reconstruction. The authors have developed a new ultrasound protocol for early diagnosis and management of seroma, with the aim of detecting and treating early seroma through a series of ultrasound-guided suctions. In this way, we want to avoid the onset of seroma-related complications. After 12.5 months of mean follow-up time, we performed 22 fluid aspirations, and no seroma recurrence was reported, as well as no secondary complications. The authors believe that the introduction of this novel ultrasound protocol allows the plastic surgeon to actively and promptly manage seroma.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.