Passive versus active drainage following neck dissection: a non-randomised prospective study

Drainage is used following neck dissection to prevent the collection of fluid and aid healing. Active drains are thought to be more effective due to their ability to assist adherence of skin flaps and the minimisation of bacterial migration. There is controversy regarding the type of drain (active o...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology 2009, Vol.266 (1), p.121-124
Main Authors: Batstone, Martin Druce, Lowe, Derek, Shaw, Richard J., Brown, James S., Vaughan, E. David, Rogers, Simon N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Biological and medical sciences
Drainage - methods
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Graft Survival
Head and Neck
Head and Neck Neoplasms - mortality
Head and Neck Neoplasms - pathology
Head and Neck Neoplasms - surgery
Head and Neck Surgery
Humans
Length of Stay
Male
Medical sciences
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Middle Aged
Neck Dissection - adverse effects
Neck Dissection - methods
Neoplasm Staging
Neurosurgery
Otorhinolaryngology
Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology
Postoperative Care - methods
Probability
Prospective Studies
Risk Factors
Statistics, Nonparametric
Suction - methods
Surgical Flaps
Surgical Wound Dehiscence - prevention & control
Surgical Wound Infection - prevention & control
Treatment Outcome
Wound Healing - physiology
Young Adult
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Drainage is used following neck dissection to prevent the collection of fluid and aid healing. Active drains are thought to be more effective due to their ability to assist adherence of skin flaps and the minimisation of bacterial migration. There is controversy regarding the type of drain (active or passive) which should be used due to concerns about the potential for compromise of free flap pedicles with active drains. A prospective non-randomised study was undertaken to determine if there were any differences in neck healing following neck dissection between active and passive drains. A consecutive series of patients (the majority of whom had free flap reconstruction) were included over an 8 month period and were examined for delayed healing of the neck wound, flap loss, infection, haematoma and fistula. A total of 60 patients underwent 72 neck dissections during the study period (passive: 13, active: 47). The delayed healing rate in patients with passive drains was 54% compared with 6% for active drains ( P  
ISSN:0937-4477
1434-4726
DOI:10.1007/s00405-008-0723-8