Introduction:
Thyroidectomy is a common surgery in the neck area, in which the application of platysma muscle suture after thyroidectomy is still being discussed. This study was conducted to compare the application (currently common) or non-application of suture for platysma muscle.
Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, ۱۱۷ patients underwent thyroidectomy, among which ۶۳ cases without suturing platysma (control group) and ۵۴ subjects with suturing platysma (Intervention group ) were examined in terms of postoperative pain based on visual analogue scale score measured ۲۴ h post-operation. The samples were also investigated regarding hematoma and seroma, wound infection, length of hospitalization, scarring (۱ year after surgery), duration of surgery, and the number of cases using opioids during the hospitalization. Patients with diabetes, previous neck surgery, coagulopathy, and radiation history were excluded from the study. The gathered data were analyzed statistically in SPSS software (version ۱۸) using the Chi-square test and the Mann–Whitney U test. A p-value of less than (۰.۰۵) was considered significant.
Results: Based on the findings, the mean age of the patients in the Intervention group was calculated at ۵۱ years, of which ۴۱ and ۱۳ cases were females and males, respectively. In the Intervention group, ۳۴ patients underwent complete thyroidectomy and ۲۰ patients had hemithyroidectomy. The mean age score of subjects in the control group was calculated at ۵۰ years, of which ۴۴ and ۱۹ patients were respectively female and male. No significant difference was revealed considering wound infection, length of hospitalization, created scarring, the amount of opioid use (opioids), and postoperative pain. However, only the length of surgery was different between the groups (P-value<۰.۰۵).
Conclusions: There was no difference between wound and surgical complications and cosmetic results between both groups; nevertheless, due to the duration of the surgery and other benefits, such as consuming less thread, not suturing the platysma is recommended.