Thyroid and parathyroid surgery without drains

The question of routine wound drainage after thyroid and parathyroid surgery remains controversial among experienced surgeons. Review of the literature failed to reveal any study that established the benefit of drainage after thyroidectomy and parathyroidectomy. A retrospective review of 139 thyroid or parathyroid procedures performed without drainage was conducted. One hundred ten thyroid operations were performed, including unilateral lobectomy with isthmusectomy [82 (74.5%)], total or bilateral subtotal thyroidectomy [26 (23.6%)], and isthmusectomy [2 (1.8%)]. Histologic examination yielded a benign diagnosis in 94 specimens (85.4%); 16 specimens (14.5%) contained thyroid carcinoma. Parathyroid explorations were performed in 29 patients (20.8%) all of whom had adenomas. Postoperatively, there were no instances of wound hematomas, infections, or rebleeding necessitating reoperation. Minor complications included asymptomatic wound seromas (4-30 mL) in five (3.6%) patients, which were aspirated 2 weeks after discharge without further recurrence. This minimal complication rate of 3.6% with undrained neck incisions suggests that routine prophylactic drainage of thyroid and parathyroid wounds is unnecessary.