SURGICAL ONCOLOGY

Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleAlthough no longer routinely utilised in colonic or biliary surgery [1,2] (because of an association with increased in-fection rates [3], discomfort [4] and hospital stay [5]), drain use following thyroid surgery remains common practice [6]. This may be because evidence negating their utility in terms of postoperative convalescence has been considered lacking in terms of both quality and quantity [5], especially with regard to nonsuction drains [5,7]. In addition, roid bed acts as an ‘early indicator ’ of significant post-operative haemorrhage and provides a safeguard against compressive effects. Conversely, drains may augment scar-ring in a cosmetically sensitive area as well as infection risk and discomfort for no proven advantage, and they also add some time and expense to the end of the operation. The continuing mismatch between common practice and the existing evidence base affirms the need for a further randomised clinical trial to examine whether drains provide any clinical benefit. We conducted a prospectiv