Results
A total of 123 patients (41 cases and 82 controls) were included in the
study. Patient demographics and pre-operative characteristics are
presented in Table 1. The mean age of the study cohort was 50.8±12.9
years, with a female predominance (69/123, 56.1%). No statistically
significant differences between the FS and control group were found for
any of the pre-operative characteristic.
Comparison of intraoperative characteristics and the final pathology is
presented in Table 2. No significant differences were found between the
groups regarding tumor location and final pathology. A borderline
significance was found for surgery type as the FS group had higher rates
of total parotidectomies compared with the control group (25.0% vs.
10.5%, p=0.054). Revision surgery was performed in 5 patients (12.2%)
in the FS group and 6 (7.3%) in the control group. Parapharyngeal
involvement was found in 2 patients (4.9%) in the FS group and 6
(7.3%) in the control. The most common pathology was pleomorphic
adenoma in both groups (65.9% and 50.0% of patients in the FS and
control group, respectively). Malignant tumors were found in 4.9% and
3.7% of patients in the FS and control group, respectively.
The mean LOS in the FS group was significantly lower than that in the
control group (1.0±0.3 vs. 1.5±0.6 days; p<0.001, Figure 2).
Within the control group, the mean number of days with a drain was
1.6±0.6, with a mean volume of 19.5±15.9 cc of drainage per
hospitalization day. Two patients were discharged with their drain,
which was removed after 2 days in our outpatient clinic. No differences
in mean VAS score was noted between the FS and the control groups -
either on post-operative day 1 (0.9±1.1 vs. 1.0±0.9, p=0.645) or on the
day of discharge (0.8±1.0 vs. 0.6±0.8, p=0.509).
Complications were minimal and included transient facial nerve palsies
as well as salivary and serous collections and infections. No permanent
complications occurred in any of our patients regardless of the use of
FS or drain. Comparisons of post-operative complications are presented
in Table 3. No significant difference was found. The rate of
post-operative seroma aspirations and delivery of post-operative
antibiotics were lower in the FS group compared with the control group
but did not reach statistical significance (Table 3). In the FS group 3
patients were each aspirated twice, and in the control group 12 patients
were aspirated 1-3 times (p=0.282). The mean volume of aspirations was
similar in both groups (1.0±3.6 cc in the FS group and 1.0±3.2 cc in the
control group, p=0.299).