Affiliation:
1. Department of Ear, Nose and Throat James Cook University Hospital Middlesbrough United Kingdom
Abstract
AbstractObjectiveLateral neck dissection (LND) is performed for staging/treatment of head and neck lesions. This traditionally includes placement of a drain and inpatient admission. Drainless, day‐case head and neck surgery is attractive due to cost‐effectiveness and reduced length of stay, but evidence is lacking in LND. We aim to investigate Artiss™ as an alternative to drain placement, facilitating day‐case LND.MethodsA prospective review was conducted of patients who underwent LND in a UK hospital over a 22‐month period.ResultsThirty‐nine patients were identified (27 Artiss™ only; 12 Artiss™ with a drain). Eight Artiss™ only patients were day‐case. All drains were removed by post‐operative day 2. There was no statistically significant difference in the number of complications between the two groups.ConclusionThis observational study demonstrates that for selected patients, Artiss™ could facilitate drainless, day‐case LND. Further controlled studies with matched groups and larger numbers are required to validate this.