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Drainless Parotidectomy Using Tissue Fibrin Sealant -- A Case-Control Study
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  • Oded Cohen,
  • Hen Chaushu,
  • Keren Hod,
  • Tzur Kirshenbaum,
  • Avi Khafif
Oded Cohen
Assuta Medical Center

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Hen Chaushu
Assuta Medical Center
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Keren Hod
Assuta Medical Center
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Tzur Kirshenbaum
Assuta Medical Center
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Avi Khafif
Assuta Medical Center
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Abstract

Objectives: Drainless parotidectomy has been reported infrequently, mostly in patients undergoing limited partial parotidectomies. Evicel is a fibrin sealant (FS) glue whose use has not been reported in head and neck surgeries so far. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of drainless parotidectomy using FS on the surgical outcome. Design: A retrospective matched case-control series. Settings: A single academic center, Participants: All cases of patients who underwent drainless parotidectomies, including deep lobe tumors and revision surgeries, were compared to age, sex, body mass index and tumor-matched controls in which a suction drain was inserted. Main outcome measures: length of hospital stay (LOS). Secondary outcomes included post-operative seroma and related complications. Results: A total of 123 patients (41 cases and 82 controls) were included in the study. Pre-operative and intra-operative characteristic did not differ significantly between the FS group and controls. A borderline significance was found for surgery type as the FS group had higher rates of total parotidectomy compared with the control group (25.0% vs. 10.5%, p=0.054). LOS was significantly shorter in the FS group (1.0±0.3 vs. 1.5±0.6 days, p<0.001). The rates of post-operative seroma, aspirations, local infection and post-operative antibiotic treatment were all lower in the FS group compared with the control group, but did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion: A drainless parotidectomy using the EVICEL FS is safe, reduces LOS, and may reduce post-operative seroma and its associated complications. This procedure may be applied to deep parotid tumors, parapharyngeal involvement and revision surgery.