A Randomized Trial of Total Drain Volume in Post-Modified Radical Mastectomy (MRM) Breast Cancer Patient Using Songket Incision Compare to Stewart Incision plus Axillary Anchor at Dr. Mohammad Hoesin Hospital Palembang

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women globally. In Indonesia, a total of 65,858 new cases with a 22,530 mortality rate were reported in 2020. To overcome this health condition, surgery serves as the primary treatment, with post-mastectomy complications frequently involving seroma formation, exacerbating post-operative problems. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the total drain volume in post-MRM breast cancer patients using Songket incision compared to Stewart incision plus axillary anchor. This experiment was conducted to determine the optimal surgical option for breast cancer patients.Methods: A two-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted in female patients with breast cancer treated at the Surgical Oncology Division of Mohammad Hoesin Hospital Palembang between April to May 2022. Patients were blindly assigned to one of the two arms, namely the Songket incision and Stewart incision plus an axillary anchor. The eligible sample consisted of patients diagnosed with breast cancer who were slated for Modified Radical Mastectomy (MRM) surgery, willing to participate, and signed informed consent. The primary outcome of this study was total drain volume, while the secondary objective encompassed the length of treatment selected.Results: A total of 26 patients participated in this study (n=13 in each arm). The total drain volume using the Stewart incision was 378.07 ± 219.57, compared to 174.23 ± 97.44 ml for the Songket design (p< 0.001). The mean length of treatment was 4.46 ± 0.77 days in the Stewart incision plus axillary anchor group and 3.23 ± 0.43 days in the Songket incision design (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Songket incision was the best surgical option for breast cancer patients.