=====Suction drain=====

Placement of a drain during anterior cervicotomy for (ACDF/ACDR) did not limit the occurrence of symptomatic [[postoperative hematoma]]
((Aggad M, Terrier LM, Nidal Salah C, Zemmoura I, Planty-Bonjour A, Francois P, Amelot A. Are there Still any Benefits to Drainage for Anterior Cervical Arthrodesis/Arthroplasty by Cervicotomy? Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2024 Feb 16. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000004964. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38362711.)).

see also [[Jackson Pratt drain]].

[[Wound]] suction [[drain]]s have been used to decrease the rate of postoperative [[hematoma]] formation and thus [[wound infection]]s for many years throughout all surgical subspecialties. Although the use of surgical drains dates back to the years of Hippocrates
((Hippocrates The Genuine Works of Hippocrates Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins; 1939))
, in the orthopedic literature these drains have not been shown to be beneficial in decreasing the rates of these complications, especially in orthopedic procedures including fracture fixation or [[arthroplasty]] surgeries.
(( Joshy S, Tharian B. Wound drainage versus non-drainage for proximal femoral fractures. A prospective randomised study. Injury. 2006;37(1):85.))
((Lang G J, Richardson M, Bosse M J. et al. Efficacy of surgical wound drainage in orthopaedic trauma patients: a randomized prospective trial. J Orthop Trauma. 1998;12(5):348–350.))
((Parker M J, Roberts C P, Hay D. Closed suction drainage for hip and knee arthroplasty. A meta-analysis. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2004;86-A(6):1146–1152.))
((Ritter M A, Keating E M, Faris P M. Closed wound drainage in total hip or total knee replacement. A prospective, randomized study. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1994;76(1):35–38.))
However, these drains are still commonly used throughout the orthopedic community, including [[spine surgery]].

In spine surgery, the controversy of suction drains are profound because it decreases the rare but devastating complication of [[postoperative spinal epidural hematoma]], but it may have a hypothetical increase in the risk of [[infection]]
((Parker M J, Livingstone V, Clifton R, McKee A. Closed suction surgical wound drainage after orthopaedic surgery. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007;(3):CD001825.))
((Payne D H, Fischgrund J S, Herkowitz H N, Barry R L, Kurz L T, Montgomery D M. Efficacy of closed wound suction drainage after single-level lumbar laminectomy. J Spinal Disord. 1996;9(5):401–403.)).