Surgical wound drainage: a survey of practices among gynaecologists in the British Isles

Summary. All 2836 members and fellows of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists were circulated with a questionnaire concerning their practices with regard to wound drainage. The overall response rate was 43%, although that from practitioners of consultant and senior registrar status was 67%. The use of wound drainage was consistent between surgeons of differing levels of experience and different subspecialty interests within gynaecology. At routine ‘clean’ operations the use of drains is limited; only 0·4% of gynaecologists drain the peritoneal cavity, 1% the pelvis, 4% the subcutaneous tissues, and 20% the rectus sheath routinely. At more specialist ‘clean’ procedures, however, greater use of drains is made; at suprapubic incontinence operations 51% of surgeons drain the retropubic space; at radical hysterectomy 55% drain the pelvis; and at radical vulvectomy 63% use drains in the groins, routinely. In all the above operations much greater use is made of active (83%) than passive drains (17%). With potentially contaminated wounds, however, 46% of gynaecologists use a passive drain.