REDUCTION MAMMAPLASTY WITH ADRENALINE INFILTRATION - EFFECTS ON PERIOPERATIVE BLEEDING

We present a retrospective comparison of two groups of patients who un derwent reduction mammaplasty with (n = 200) and without (n = 44) infi ltration of a combination of a local anaesthetic and adrenaline. The v asoconstrictive effect of adrenaline reduced the intraoperative bleedi ng from 0.5 ml to 0.1 ml/g resected tissue. Postoperative bleeding was also reduced. Drains were omitted in 104 of the patients who had rece ived adrenaline. In spite of this, these patients had no increases in the rates of infection, haematoma formation, or need for reoperation c ompared with the group that had been given drains. The practical impli cation is that after local infiltration of a vasoconstrictor agent pos toperative drains can be omitted, at least in the Strombeck reduction mammaplasty procedure.