TITLE:
Lymph Fistulas after Inguinal Lymph Node Dissection—Assessment of Risk Factors and Future Treatment Strategies
AUTHORS:
Nils Habbe, Alexander Reinisch, Wolf Otto Bechstein, Sabine Hannes
KEYWORDS:
Lymph Fistula, Inguinal Lymph Node, Lymphadenectomy, Wound Infection
JOURNAL NAME:
Surgical Science,
Vol.5 No.4,
April
24,
2014
ABSTRACT: Background: Inguinal lymph
node dissections (ILND) have been commonly associated with postoperative
complications such as lymphedema, lymph fistula and wound infections. The
reported complication rates after ILND range from 14% - 77%, and a rationale
for these large differences is the use of a variety of different definitions of
complications. Patients and Methods: Files of patients that underwent inguinal
lymph node dissection for lymph node metastases at the Department of General
and Visceral Surgery of the University Hospital Frankfurt between February 2005
and March 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Results: 47 patients (65%)
developed a lymphatic fistula in the course of the operation, of which 6
patients (8%) underwent reoperations. Surgical side infections (SSI) were seen
in 15 patients (21%), all of them harbouring fistulas. Patients presenting with
a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 did
not develop more fistulas than those with a BMI 2 (p = 0.30). Patients who suffered from
a lymph fistula had significantly more visits in the outpatient clinic (p =