2022 Volume 38 Issue 2 Pages 48-52
Objective: Total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) has gained widespread acceptance. Although using an intra-abdominal drain after laparoscopic surgery has been considered effective, there are no clear guidelines concerning it. We analyzed the cases of TLH in our hospital to see if drain placement could be omitted.
Methods: From April 2020 to March 2021, 79 patients underwent TLH in our hospital. While we placed intra-abdominal drains after TLH in 33 patients (drain group), we did not place the drains after TLH in 46 patients (non-drain group). Clinical background, operation time, bleeding volume, weight of the uterus, number of days until discharge, and postoperative complications were retrospectively analyzed.
Results: Three patients developed postoperative complications, of which 2 and 1 were from the drain and non-drain groups, respectively. One patient in the drain group underwent vaginal stump dehiscence whereas the other developed umbilical wound infection. Vaginal stump hematoma was observed in the patient from the non-drain group.
Conclusion: This study suggested that intra-abdominal drain placement after TLH could be omitted. Further studies are warranted to support omission of drains after TLH.
