Octreotide can control lymphorrhea after axillary node dissection in mastectomy operations.

摘要

Seroma formation after axillary lymphadenectomy in women with breast cancer remains a problem despite efforts to reduce surgery-related morbidity (1,2). Seroma may lead to infection, prolong hospital stay and delay chemotherapy and radiotherapy (3). In a study by Carcoforo et al. (4), octreotide was used in the treatment of seromas following mastectomy and axillary dissection. They concluded that the use of octreotide for the treatment of postaxillary dissection lymphorrhea is safe and effective but they advised further studies with longer follow-up for optimization of dose and duration of treatment. The precise mechanism responsible for this action is not well studied, however, it is likely that somatostatin can exert a direct effect on the lymphatic system to reduce lymph production, it may be also attributed to the anti-inflammatory action of octreotide (4).