OBJECTIVES:
* Compare high vacuum drainage vs low vacuum drainage vs simple tube drainage in patients undergoing axillary surgery for stage I or II breast cancer.
OUTLINE: This is a randomized study.
Patients undergo axillary dissection, then are randomized to one of three axillary drainage systems.
* Arm I: Patients receive high vacuum drainage.
* Arm II: Patients receive low vacuum drainage.
* Arm III: Patients receive simple tube drainage (no vacuum). All drains are removed when daily volumes are below 30 mL or at 5 days after surgery, regardless of drain volume.
Patients are followed at day 10 and at 3 months.
PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 200 patients will be accrued for this study.
