Surgical Drain Placement Technique and Its Effects Following Total Laryngectomy
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https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6916-567X
Donald Solomon
Nadir Ahmad
Luke Stanisce
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9681-6052
Justin Ungerleider
Krystal Hunter
Yekaterina Koshkareva *
Abstract
Objective: We aimed to determine whether securing Jackson-Pratt (JP) drains with suture both internally and externally (IE) vs. externally only (EO) after total laryngectomy affects drain migration and incidence or rate of postoperative complications.
Study Design: Retrospective chart review.
Setting: Single institution urban tertiary care center.
Methods: Fifty-three patients who underwent total laryngectomy were reviewed retrospectively and categorized as IE or EO. Post-operative esophagograms were reviewed by 12 non-affiliated Otolaryngologists. Drain displacement, post-operative complication rates and time to detection of complication were compared.
Results: Fewer radiographs (20.7%) were designated as "displaced" in the IE group compared to the EO group (30.4%) (p = 0.05). There was no difference in complication rates or median time to detect salivary leaks between the two groups.
Conclusion: The utilization of an internal suture technique to secure surgical drains following total laryngectomy was associated with a decreased rate of drain migration. However, drain migration did not appear to affect complication rates or timing of detection of a salivary leak.