Thyroidectomy with and without drains: a clinical comparative study

Abstract

Background: Thyroid surgery is one of the most commonly performed procedures by a general surgeon, and almost every surgeon tends to use closed suction drain at the end of surgery, with an intention of preventing the most dangerous complication i.e., suffocating haematoma, which may be not necessary as suggested by many studies. The objective of the study was to assess the benefit of drain use after thyroidectomy by determining; length of hospital stay, post operative pain and wound sepsis.Methods: This prospective clinical comparative study was undertaken at tertiary care teaching Hospital, for duration of one year from September 2017 to August 2018.Results: A total of 44 patients were evaluated. There were 29 females (65.90%) and 15 males (34.09%). The mean age for the drain group was 35.45 years and 33.79 years for the no drain group. Most participants were female. Mean duration of hospital stay after thyroidectomy was significantly higher among the drain arm as compared with the no drain arm. Seven patients developed complications in the drain group and one developed complication in the no drain group. The mean hospital stay of the drain group was 3.15 days which in the no drain group was 2.51 days.Conclusions: Thyroidectomy without drains causes less discomfort, early discharge, hence has lesser expenses, without increasing the risk of post operative including haemorrhage and hematoma formation. Meticulous haemostasis and an adequate surgical technique are the keys for avoiding haemorrhage and hematoma formation.