Kinesio Tex Tape in Reducing Edema and Seroma After Complex Reconstructive Breast Surgery

Over the last two decades in the field of oncology, the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation have reached a remarkable development, improving healing rates and reducing the number of deaths from cancer. The most frequent cancer in the female population is the breast one, which consequences can become disabling. In recent years, surgeons need to find more effective and less invasive treatments. Nowadays, despite the achievements, oncological surgery can cause side effects that cannot allow the return to normal life. Some of these problems are represented by the formation of edema and seroma, which can be handled by the physiotherapist through the manual lymphatic drainage and the application of an elastic tape. The elastic tape is used a lot in clinical practice, despite it lacks supportive evidence. The primary aim of the study is to verify the effectiveness of Kinesio Tex Tape in reducing edema and seroma formation following complex reconstructive breast surgery. The secondary goals are the evaluation of the quality of the scar, of the perception of pain, of the degree of satisfaction and disability. It is a controlled, monocentric, national, comparative, randomized, single-blind study. The sample size is 60 patients who undergo complex reconstructive breast surgery. Patients are divided into two groups: the experimental one (receiving standard treatment and Kinesio Tex Tape application) and a group of control (just receiving standard treatment). To evaluate edema and seroma, ultrasound is used; ultrasounds will be on the 1st, 15th and 30th postoperative days (T0, T1 and T2); Vancouver Scar Scale is used to define the quality of the scar (T0 and T2); to measure the subjective perception of pain and to evaluate the degree of patient satisfaction, two VAS scales are administered (the VAS scale for pain is administered at T0, T1 and T2, while the VAS scale for satisfaction is given at T1 and T2); Finally, to assess the degree of disability, the DASH Questionnaire is used (T0, T1 and T2).

Sex

Female

Minimum age

18 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

* Female patients aged ≥ 18;
* Complex reconstructive breast surgery with expander or prosthesis;
* Conditions favoring the correct execution of the proposed program (ability to complete the questionnaires);
* Written informed consent adherence.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients with psychic or other disorders that may prevent the completion of the questionnaires and / or informed consent adherence;
* Deferred breast reconstruction;
* Bilateral breast surgery reconstruction;
* Previous laterocervical emptying surgery;
* Maintenance of the surgical drainage for more than 8 days;
* Acute infections in other parts of the body.