Drain placement in thyroidectomy is associated with longer hospital stay without preventing hematoma

Objective To analyze the effect of drain placement on postoperative hematoma formation and other associated outcomes post–thyroid surgery in a large national cohort. Methods This was a retrospective study that analyzed data from the 2016–2017 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) public use files. Baseline characteristics and perioperative outcomes were compared between drain and no drain cohorts. Results A total of 11,626 patients were included; 3281 had a drain placed intraoperatively and 8345 did not. Otolaryngologists were 6.98 times more likely to place a drain after thyroidectomy than general surgeons (P