Five-years' experience with outpatient thyroglossal duct cyst surgery

Abstract

Objectives: Many pediatric surgeons feel uncomfortable doing Sistrunk procedure without drain placement and in an outpatient setting. This study aimed to review our pediatric surgery department's experience in managing thyroglossal duct cyst surgery and to prove feasibility and safety of Sistrunk procedure without drain placement in an outpatient setting.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed of all patients who underwent Sistrunk procedure, between January 2011 and December 2015, in our department.

Results: A total of 36 patients were included, with age ranging from 1 to 14 years (mean 6.3 years). Sixteen patients underwent day surgery, and 20 stayed overnight (with less than 24 h postoperative discharge). The main reason to stay overnight was distance (greater than 60 km or 1 h driving) between the hospital and patient's residence. All patients had histopathological confirmation of the diagnosis. None of the patients had a drain placed intraoperatively. There was only one readmission at 48 h postoperative; a patient who underwent day surgery came back with cervical edema, which resolved with non-operative treatment. Short-term complications included post-operative local wound infection (8,5%) and hematoma (2,9%), none of which required surgical treatment.

Conclusions: Sistrunk procedure without drain placement is safe and can be performed in an outpatient setting.

Keywords: Ambulatory surgery; Pediatric surgery; Sistrunk procedure; Thyroglossal cyst.