Back to Search Results

Tissue sealants for the prevention of lymphoceles after radical inguinal lymph node dissection in patients with melanoma: A systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis

Department of Surgery, University Medical Center Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany. Department of Visceral Surgery, University Hospital, Technical University Dresden, Dresden, Germany. Department of Biometry and Statistics, University Medical Center Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany. Library, University Medical Center Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany. Department of Surgery, Melanoma, Soft Tissues, Head and Neck, Skin Cancers, National Cancer Institute of Naples, Naples, Italy. Division of Surgical Oncology and Thoracic Surgery, Mannheim University Medical Center, Mannheim, Germany. Department of General, Vascular and Thoracic Surgery, RoMed Hospital Rosenheim, Rosenheim, Germany.

Journal of surgical oncology. 2019
Full text from:

Other resources

Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Postoperative lymphoceles and further wound complications occur frequently after radical inguinal lymph node dissection (ILND). In various studies, tissue sealants have shown to reduce the incidence of postoperative morbidity. METHODS A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effectiveness of tissue sealants in reducing the incidence of postoperative lymphoceles following ILND in patients with melanoma was conducted. Individual patient data was requested to pool the data for meta-analysis appropriately. RESULTS Thousand seven hundred twenty-nine manuscripts were screened for eligibility. Six RCTs published between 1986 and 2012 were identified including 194 patients for ILND. Only four RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. No study properly defined the term "lymphocele." Tissue sealants failed to influence the duration of drain placement (mean difference [MD] = -3.05 days; z = 1.18; P = 0.24), total drainage volume (MD = 598.39 mL; z = 1.49; P = 0.14), the incidence of postoperative seroma, wound infection and skin necrosis. CONCLUSIONS No improvement was identified with the use of tissue sealants, however, a valid comparison of the results of included trials was difficult owing to the lack of a definition of the term "lymphocele." Other surgical techniques and trials using validated endpoint definitions are required to reevaluate these findings.
Study details
Study Design : Systematic Review
Language : eng
Credits : Bibliographic data from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine