%0 Journal Article
%T Is the routine pressure dressing after thyroidectomy necessary? A prospective randomized controlled study
%A Patorn Piromchai
%A Patravoot Vatanasapt
%A Wisoot Reechaipichitkul
%A Warinthorn Phuttharak
%A Sanguansak Thanaviratananich
%J BMC Ear, Nose and Throat Disorders
%D 2008
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1472-6815-8-1
%X We studied 108 patients who underwent 116 thyroid surgeries at Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University, between December 2006 and September 2007. The patients were randomized to either the pressure dressing or non-pressure dressing group. Ultrasound of the neck was performed 24 ¡À 3 hours after surgery. The volume of fluid collection in the operative bed was calculated. All patients were observed for any post-operative respiratory distress, wound complications, tingling sensation or tetany.The distributions of age, sex, surgical indications and approaches were similar between the two groups. There was no statistically significant difference in the volume of fluid collection in the operative bed (p = 0.150) and the collected drained content (p = 0.798). The average time a drain was retained was 3 days. One patient in the pressure dressing group suffered cutaneous bruising while one patient in the non-pressure dressing group developed immediate hemorrhage after the skin sutures.Pressure dressing after thyroidectomy does not have any significant impact on decreasing fluid collection at the operative bed. The use of pressure dressing after thyroidectomy may not therefore be justified.NCT00400465, ISRCTN52660978About 200 cases of thyroidectomy are performed per year at Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University. An acute complication of this operation can lead to a fatal hematoma due to an upper airway obstruction (in 1 to 2.5 percent of cases) [1-4], requiring either intubation or tracheostomy.After surgery, we usually apply a pressure dressing using a non-woven, adhesive, fabric to help reduce bleeding and collection of fluid on the basis that it may help to decrease dead space, compress bleeding vessels, decrease the slipping of ligature, the re-opening of cauterized veins, and the oozing area, all of which might precipitate a hematoma at the operative bed. The obvious external evidence of hematoma is a change in the neck contour or bulging skin flaps [5,6]. These s
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6815/8/1