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Transoral Endoscopic Thyroidectomy Vestibular Approach for Thyroid Lobectomy

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Drain vs. no drain in primary thyroid and parathyroid surgery.

K Ayyash¹, M Khammash, S Tibblin

¹Department of Surgery, Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital, Jabriya, Kuwait.

The European Journal of Surgery = Acta Chirurgica

|February 1, 1991

Summary

This study evaluated wound drainage after thyroid or parathyroid surgery. Results suggest routine drains may not be necessary, as seroma rates were low in both drained and undrained patients.

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Area of Science:

Endocrinology
Surgical Oncology
General Surgery

Background:

Post-operative wound complications, such as seroma, can occur after thyroid and parathyroid surgery.
The necessity of surgical drains in these procedures remains a topic of clinical debate.

Purpose of the Study:

To prospectively evaluate the need for wound drainage following primary thyroid or parathyroid surgery.
To compare the incidence of seroma formation between patients with and without surgical drains.

Main Methods:

A prospective, randomized study involving 100 consecutive patients undergoing primary thyroid or parathyroid surgery.
Patients were randomly assigned to either a drainage or no-drainage group (50 patients each).
Wound complications, specifically seroma development, were monitored.

Main Results:

Seroma developed in 7 out of 50 patients (14%) in the no-drainage group.
Seroma developed in 2 out of 50 patients (4%) in the drainage group.
All seromas resolved spontaneously without residual effects, and complication rates were independent of surgeon preference.

Conclusions:

Routine surgical drainage may not be statistically indicated for primary thyroid or parathyroid surgery.
The low incidence of self-resolving seromas suggests a potential for omitting drains in select cases.
Further statistical analysis is needed to definitively guide routine drain use in these procedures.