The use of Fibrin Sealants in Reducing Drain Output in Abdominoplasty: Is it Useful?

BackgroundAbdominoplasty is a common surgical procedure where excess abdominal skin and fat is reduced to improve body contouring. Fibrin sealant has been proposed to reduce post-surgical bleeding and exudation. In this study we evaluated if there was a significant statistical difference between the use or not of fibrin glue in abdominoplasty surgery in reducing bleeding and exudation by the amount of surgical drain output.Material and methodsA retrospective chart review on 68 post-bariatric abdominoplasty patients (fifty-eight females, ten males) was performed. We divided the patients in group A (30 cases, 44%), in which we used fibrin sealant, and in group B (38 cases, 56%), in which we did not use fibrin glue. We calculated total amount of liquid in suction drainages until the day of its removal. Statistical analysis included the independent T-test with a Significance Level of .05.ResultsThe average drainage output in group A was 620.0±375.0 mL, in group B was 500.0±290.0 mL. Results indicate an insignificant correlation between the use of fibrin glue and the amount of liquid in the surgical drains, t= 1.52, p= 0.13. The result is not significant at p <.05 with Independent T-Test.ConclusionSurely the use of fibrin sealant has a high value in all surgical branches to reduce postoperative complications, but in our study we did not notice advantages in its use in reducing the surgical drain output.