ABSTRACT

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy and the most common cause of mortality in women worldwide. In addition to the increasing incidence of breast cancer, the length of hospital stay (LOS) after breast cancer surgery has been decreasing. Because LOS is key in determining hospital usage, the decrease in the use of hospital facilities may have implications on healthcare planning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factors affecting postoperative LOS in patients with breast cancer.

Seventy-six in patients with breast cancer, who had been treated between July 2013 and December 2014 in the General Surgery Clinic of Dicle University, were included in the study. The demographic characteristics of the patients, treatment methods, histopathological features of the tumor, concomitant diseases, whether they underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy or not, and the length of drain remaining time were retrospectively recorded.

There was a correlation between drain remaining time, totally removed lymph node, the number of metastatic lymph node, and LOS. LOS of patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy was longer. The patients who underwent breast-conserving surgery had a shorter LOS. Linear regression analysis revealed that the drain remaining time and the number of metastatic lymph nodes were independent risk factors for LOS.

Consideration should be given to cancer screening to diagnose the patients before lymph node metastasis occurs. In addition, drains should be avoided unless required and, if used, they should be removed as early as possible for shortening LOS.