• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.119-124
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• 1995

Traditionally, wound drainage after thyroid or parathyroid surgery has been widely used to prevent airway obstruction due to accumulation of hematoma or seroma within the paratracheal dead space. Recently, however, the routine use of drains after thyroid or parathyroid surgery has become a matter of controversy. To determine whether the rouine use of drains after thyroid or parathyroid surgery is warranted, a prospective study on the complications after various types of thyroid or parathyroid surgery without wound drains was conducted. Three hunded sixty-six consecutive patients underwent thyroid or parathyorid surgeries by one surgeon from January through December 1994 were included in this study. Of these, only 38 patients (10.4%) required the wound drains. Indications for drainage included the patients with a large dead space(n=9) or wet operative field at the conclusion of surgery(n=11), and patients with radical neck disection(n=18). In the remaining 328 patients(89.6%), the wounds were closed without drains after thyroid lobectomy and isthmusectomy(n=226), bilateral subtotal thyroidectomy(n=21), total or near-total thyroidectomy(n=62), isthmusectomy(n=9) and parathyroid surgery(n=l0). Histologic findings revealed benign tumors in 214(65.2%), carcinoma in 89(27.1%), Graves' disease in 15(4.7%), hyperparathyroidism in 7(2.1%) and parathyroid cyst in 3(0.9%). Among the 328 patients without drain used, wound related complications were seen in only 15 patients(4.6%); 12 patients with seroma and 3 patients with hematoma. All but one complications could be controlled by two or three aspirations, and the remaining one patient required re-exploration. There were no instances of laryngeal nerve palsy or wound infection. The mean length of hospital stay after surgery was 2.8 days with a range of 1 to 11 days. These results support the routine use of drains is not warranted in most thyroid or parathyroid surgeries.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.20-25
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• 2000

Background: Median sternotomy remains the standard approach used by surgeons for most intracardiac operations but the residual scar is cosmetically unsatisfactory. To avoid an unsightly midline scar we have tried to use alternative skin incision (bilateral subm-ammary skin incision) to median sternal skin incision, In this study we have tried to compare different postoperative results of wound between two different skin incisional methods. Material and Method: Between June 1997 and June 1998, a bilateral subma-mmary skin incision combined with vertical sternotomy was performed in 21 pediatric female patients (submammary group)to repair acyanotic congenital heart disease. after the period we carried out a retrograde study about postoperative wound states comparing this incision with median sternal skin incision controls in whom there were 23 pediatric pat-ients (control group). Result: Patients' age ranged from 14 to 96 months(mean 38.2 months) Mean duration of subcutaneous drains using Hemovac which was used only in the patients of submammary group was 4.2 days and total amount of the drained effusion was 51.1 ml. Postoperative wound complications included wound eruption in one patient wound disruption in one patient and skin necrosis in 3 patients in submammary group and included wound disruption in 4 patients in controls. mean duration required for wound healing was 15,5 days in submammary group versus 10.4 days in controls. The mean scar length was 12.5 cm in submammary group versus 11.3 cm in controls. The average follow-up was 8.2 months in submammary group versus 9.0 months in controls. In submammary group 3 patients parents(14.3%) were pleased with their cosmetic results of wound scar but 8(38.1%) were dissatisfied. Among the 23 patients in control group 8(34.8%) were pleased but 8(34.8%) complained ofunhappiness with the scar.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.113-120
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• 2005

Purpose: To identify risk factors for surgical site infections in patients undergoing general surgery, to analyze the prolonged hospital stay and extra cost for antibiotics, and to provide basic data for control of surgical site infections. Method: Surgical site infection was defined using the definition of the CDC and the data were analyzed by $x^2$-test and unpaired t-test. Results: The prevalence of surgical site infections was 9.7%, and it was related to wound class, duration of operation, number of operations, whether the operation was an emergency, trauma, drains, preoperative stays, presence of remote infection during operative period, and previous history of recent surgery. The mean duration for post-operative stay when a surgical site infection occurred was 9.5 days and in 56.9 % of the patients the surgical site infection appeared 7 days after the operation. Post-operative stays for infected patients were 20.3 days longer than that of uninfected patients. The mean cost of antibiotics for infected patients was higher than that for uninfected patients by 561,067 won per person. Conclusion: Surgical site infection results in an increased length of stay and extra-cost, thus, hospitals need to create strategies to reduce nosocomial infections through effective infection surveillance and by considering factors related to surgical site infections.