Modified radical mastectomy sparing one or both pectoral muscles in the treatment of breast cancer: intra and postoperative complications.

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE Modified radical mastectomy is widely utilized in breast cancer treatment. However, no prospective comparison has yet been made between the Madden technique (preservation of the pectoralis minor muscle) and the Patey technique (resection of this muscle). The aim of this work was to compare these two modified radical mastectomy techniques, by analyzing their degrees of difficulty and complications. DESIGN AND SETTING Randomized trial at the Breast Unit of Hospital Araújo Jorge, Goiás; and Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade Federal de Goiás. METHODS 430 patients with breast cancer with an indication for modified radical mastectomy were included in the program, of whom 426 patients were available for analysis (225 allocated to Patey and 201 to Madden). The chi-squared and Student t tests were used for analysis. RESULTS The patients demographics were well balanced between the two groups. The mean duration of the surgical procedures was 105 (+/- 29.9) and 102 minutes (+/- 33), for the Patey and Madden groups, respectively (p = 0.6). Hospitalization duration was 2.3 days for both groups. The mean number of lymph nodes resected was 20.3 (+/- 7.6) for Patey and 19.8 (+/- 8.1) for Madden (p = 0.5). There were no differences in terms of vascular or nerve sections, hematomas or infections. The surgeons reported the same degree of difficulty for the two methods. CONCLUSION The removal of the pectoralis minor muscle did not influence any of the variables studied. Therefore, either technique can be performed, at the surgeon's discretion.