Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 4, 2026
Transoral Endoscopic Thyroidectomy Vestibular Approach for Thyroid Lobectomy
Published on: May 12, 2023
Is suction drainage an effective means of preventing hematoma in thyroid surgery? A meta-analysis
Martin Corsten1, Stephanie Johnson, Ameen Alherabi
1Department of Otolaryngology, University of Ottawa, Ontario. mjcorsten@yahoo.ca
Objective:
To evaluate the efficacy of suction drainage in preventing postoperative hematoma formation in thyroid surgery.
Methods:
We conducted a meta-analysis using only randomized controlled trials in which the incidence of post-thyroidectomy hematoma was compared directly in patients with and without suction drains (eight studies since 1980; N = 944). The odds ratio (OR) with respective confidence intervals (CIs) using the fixed effects model was reported. We used an OR < 1.0 as being in favour of treatment (ie, the use of suction drains).
Results:
In our meta-analysis, there was no statistically significant difference between the rates of post-thyroidectomy hematoma whether or not suction drains were used when the results were combined using a fixed effects model (OR 1.04, 95% CI-1.93), with p = .90. In this comparison, a fixed effects model was used rather than a random effects model because there was no statistically significant heterogeneity (chi2 = 6.26, p = .28).
Conclusions:
We conclude that the use of suction drains in thyroid surgery to prevent postoperative hematoma is not evidence based.
