Is routine abdominal drainage necessary after liver resection?

Abstract

Purpose: Prophylactic abdominal drainage is performed routinely after liver resection in many centers. The aim of this study was to examine the safety and validity of liver resection without abdominal drainage and to clarify whether routine abdominal drainage after liver resection is necessary.

Methods: Patients who underwent elective liver resection without bilio-enteric anastomosis between July, 2006 and June, 2012 were divided into two groups, based on whether surgery was performed before or after, we adopted the no-drain strategy. The "former group" comprised 256 patients operated on between July, 2006 and June, 2009 and the "latter group" comprised 218 patients operated between July, 2009 and June, 2012. We compared the postoperative complications, percutaneous drainage, and postoperative hospital stay between the groups, retrospectively.

Results: There were no significant differences in the rates of postoperative bleeding, intraabdominal infection, or bile leakage between the groups. Drain insertion after liver resection did not reduce the rate of percutaneous drainage. Postoperative hospital stay was significantly shorter in the latter group.

Conclusion: Routine abdominal drainage is unnecessary after liver resection without bilio-enteric anastomosis.

Keywords: Abdominal drainage; Liver resection; Postoperative management.