OBJECTIVE To evaluate the necessity and benefits of the use of drains and their limitations in thyroidectomy and assess their relationship with cost of surgery and hospital stay. METHODS We conducted a prospective randomised study on 67 patients divided into two groups. A consisted of 35 patients with drain and B, 32 patients without drain between January 2005 and June 2007. All had subtotal ...

Two hundred and fifty one cases of penetrating wounds of the chest were studied prospectively. Clinical evidence is presented to show that: basal intercostal drains are adequate to remove both air and fluid from within the pleural cavity; frequent chest radiographs are unnecessary and intercostal drains may be removed on clinical grounds alone; long term antibiotic prophylaxis is unnecessary; e...

Dear Editor, The use of fibrin sealant for parotid surgery without drains has been described as having cost saving benefits and obviating drain-related morbidities.1 It is known that the use of fibrin sealant in parotid surgery decreases drain output significantly, therefore allowing parotidectomies to be done with fibrin sealants but without drains.2,3 Until now, there has been no randomised c...

Pancreaticocutaneous fistulas (PCFs) may be refractory to medical therapy or endoscopic retrograde cholangopancreaticography. Four patients underwent endoscopic ultrasound-guided management of refractory PCFs, which were internalized by endoscopic ultrasound-guided transmural puncture of the pancreatic duct (n = 2), fistula tract (n = 1), or both (n = 1), with placement of transmural stents pro...

One of the most important factors for appropriate performance of subsurface drainage systems is having adequate discharge for drains. For this purpose, knowledge about effect of drainage parameters change on drain discharge is essential in subsurface drainage systems. In this article, using change all of the drainage parameters by EnDrain software, changes of drains discharge has been investiga...

BACKGROUND Insertion of an External Ventricular Drain (EVD) is arguably one of the most common and important lifesaving procedures in neurologic intensive care unit. Various forms of acute brain injury benefit from the continuous intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion provided by an EVD. After insertion, EVD monitoring, maintenance and troubleshooting ess...

FOR as lonig as operative interferenice is necessary in glaucoma, so I suppose w,ill ophthcaliic surgeons try to devise newx ways of reducinig intra-ocular tension by drainage. Recently the reading of an article (Bick, 1949) oni the use of tantalum metal in drainage of the eve, lhas tenmpted imie to submit thils brief account of some efforts on my own part over the last fewx years to achieve su...

Retained intraperitoneal Penrose drain secondary to fracture and adhesions in the immediate postoperative period happens on occasion. Most are unreported because of the fear of medico-legal problems. Previous management of such iatrogenic complications requires repeated laparotomy or wound exploration. Two patients who underwent appendectomy for ruptured appendicitis, with retained intraabdomin...

Formation of a seroma most frequently occurs after mastectomy and axillary surgery. Prolonged drainage is troublesome as it increases the risk for infection and can significantly delay adjuvant therapy. Seroma has been defined as serous fluid collection under the skin flaps or in the axillary dead space following mastectomy and/or axillary dissection. Because the true etiology of a seroma is un...