Flap thickness selection in modified radical mastectomy：a clinical study        ZHAI Bao-ping, LI Wen-tao, ZHANG Bin. Department of Breast Surgery, the People's Hospital of Henan Province, Zhengzhou 450003, China
Corresponding author：ZHAI Bao-ping, E-mail: zhaibaoping@163.com
Abstract    Objective    To explore the selection of flap thickness in modified radical mastectomy and reduce the incidence of postoperative complications. Methods    The clinical data of 78 patients with breast cancer performed modified radical mastectomy between January 2008 and December 2008 in the Department of Breast Surgery, the People's Hospital of Henan Province were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided into C group (patients from January to June) and S group (patients from July to December). Intraoperative blood loss, operation time and incidence of postoperative complication between two groups were compared. Results    Intraoperative blood loss, operation time, postoperative total drainage volume and the incidence of flap necrosis in the S group were lower than those in the C group (P＜0.05). There was no significant difference on the incidence of subcutaneous fluid between two groups（P＝0.522）. Conclusion    Dissociating flap close to the lateral chest wall superficial fascia superficial fat layer can reduce the postoperative complications of radical mastectomy effectively.