Thyroidectomy Without Drainage: Safe Practice or Risky Decision? - A Retrospective study of 1213 patients

Background: Drainage application remains a controversial topic and growing research has demonstrated that drainage following thyroidectomy is unnecessary. This study is aimed to determine the role of drainage after thyroidectomy and whether no drainage use is practical. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent thyroidectomy at The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University were reviewed retrospectively. The patients were classified into two groups according to the drainage use or not. Postoperative complications, including hematoma, seroma, recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, hypoparathyroidism, wound infection, respiratory obstruction, and reoperation were compared between the two groups. Patients’ pain scores and length of hospital stay were also assessed. Results: The study included 1,213 patients with no deaths in either group. No statistically significant differences were found in the postoperative complications between the two groups, except for recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (p=0.038). Patients in Group 2 (non-drained) experienced significantly fewer laryngeal nerve injuries than those in Group 1 (drained). Patients in group 2 (non-drained) had significantly lower numerical rating scale (NRS) scores (p<0.001) and a shorter length of hospital stay (p<0.001). Conclusion: No drainage use has been indicated as safe and effective for patients who undergo thyroidectomy. Drainage following thyroidectomy is not a practical procedure.