Clinical Study Novel Closing Method Using Subcutaneous Continuous Drain for Preventing Surgical Site Infections in Radical Cystectomy

Copyright © 2014 Yasuhiko Hirose et al.This is an open access article distributed under theCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To reduce the incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) after radical cystectomy, a new closing method using subcutaneous continuous aspiration drain was developed and compared to the conventional closingmethod.The newmethod involved (a) closed aspiration with an indwelling aspiration drain without suture of the subcutaneous fat and (b) covering with hydrocolloid wound dressing after suture of the dermis with 4-0 absorbable thread and reinforcement using strips.The incidence of SSI was significantly improved by using the new method. Furthermore, univariate and multivariate analysis associated with SSI revealed that the new closing method was statistically correlated with 85 % reduction of SSI (odds ratio: 0.15, 95 % confidence interval: 0.03–0.69).Our new method using continuous aspiration with subcutaneous drain is useful for preventing SSI through removal of effusions and reduction of dead space by apposition of the subcutaneous fat. 1