AXILLARY LYMPHADENECTOMY PREPARED BY FAT ASPIRATION VERSUS FUNCTIONALAXILLARY LYMPHADENECTOMY - PRELIMINARY-RESULTS OF A PROSPECTIVE RANDOMIZED TRIAL

The objective of this study is to compare morbidity between 2 surgical procedures of axillary clearance: functional lymphadenectomy by class ical dissection versus axillary dissection prepared by liposuccion (Su zanne's procedure). Two hundred consecutive patients treated for breas t cancer were included in a prospective randomized trial between 1st J anuary, 1995 and 31th January, 1996 (Huriet's law). The assessment (nu mber of nodes, postoperative stay, drainage duration, rate of seromas, number of complications evaluation of mobility and sensitive disorder s) was done on the first, fifth, tenth and thirty postoperative days. There is no significant difference between the 2 groups. The rate of s eromas decreased significantly only for fat patients (8/25 versus 21/3 4, p < 0.05) and for the patients treated with radical mastectomy (17/ 37 versus 28/33, P < 0.05). In this preliminary study, liposuccion doe s nor change postoperative effects of axillary clearance, except for f at patients or after total mastectomy. The liposuccion seems to facili tate a better anatomical dissection and a better presentation of the n ervous and vascular elements.