Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Nov;16(4):e464-e468.
doi: 10.18295/squmj.2016.16.04.010. Epub 2016 Nov 30.

Comparison of Postoperative Drain Insertion versus No Drain Insertion in Thyroidectomies: Retrospective case-control study from the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman

Asma S Al-Habsi  1 , Al-Anood K Al-Sulaimani  1 , Kadhim M Taqi  2 , Hani A Al-Qadhi  3
Affiliations

Comparison of Postoperative Drain Insertion versus No Drain Insertion in Thyroidectomies: Retrospective case-control study from the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman

Asma S Al-Habsi et al. Sultan Qaboos Univ Med J. 2016 Nov.

Abstract

Objectives: A thyroidectomy is a frequently performed surgical procedure which can result in life-threatening complications. The insertion of a drain after a thyroidectomy has been suggested to prevent such complications. This study aimed to evaluate the use of surgical drains following thyroidectomies in relation to postoperative complications and mass sizes.

Methods: This retrospective case-control study included all thyroidectomies conducted at the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, from January 2011 to December 2013. Length of hospital stay, readmission, postoperative complications and mass size were evaluated.

Results: During the study period, 250 surgeries were carried out on 241 patients. The majority of patients were female (87.2%). Drains were inserted postoperatively after 202 surgeries (80.8%) compared to 48 surgeries (19.2%) without drains. A total of 32 surgeries (12.8%) were conducted on patients with thyroid masses <1 cm, 138 (55.2%) on those with masses between 1-4 cm and 80 (32.0%) on those with masses >4 cm. The association between drain use and mass size was not significant (P = 0.439). Although postoperative complications were more prevalent in patients with drains, the relationship between these factors was not significant (P >0.050). Length of hospital stay was significantly longer among patients with postoperative drains (P <0.010).

Conclusion: The routine insertion of drains after thyroid surgeries was found to result in longer hospital stays and did not reduce rates of post-thyroidectomy complications. Thyroid mass size should not be used as an indicator for the insertion of a drain after thyroidectomy.

Keywords: Drainage; Length of Stay; Oman; Postoperative Complications; Thyroidectomy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Length of hospital stay among patients with and without postoperative drains following thyroidectomies performed at the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman (N = 250).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Colak T, Akca T, Turkmenoglu O, Canbaz H, Ustunsoy B, Kanik A, et al. Drainage after total thyroidectomy or lobectomy for benign thyroidal disorders. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B. 2008;9:319–23. doi: 10.1631/jzus.B0720257. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Majid MA, Siddique MI. Major post-operative complications of thyroid surgery: Preventable or not? Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull. 2008;34:99–103. - PubMed
    1. Kalemera Ssenyondo E, Fualal J, Jombwe J, Galukande M. To drain or not to drain after thyroid surgery: A randomized controlled trial at a tertiary hospital in East Africa. Afr Health Sci. 2013;13:748–55. doi: 10.4314/ahs.v13i3.33. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Nikiforov YE, Biddinger PW, Thompson LD. Diagnostic Pathology and Molecular Genetics of the Thyroid. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2012. pp. 108–11.
    1. Güngör B, Polat AK, Polat C, Yurtseven I, Erzurumlu K. Role of drainage of the thyroid bed. World J Endocrine Surg. 2011;3:15–19. doi: 10.5005/jp-journals-10002-1048. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources