Comparative effect of tube drain on post operative inflammatory complications of impacted mandibular third molar surgery College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Background And Objectives: Swelling, pain and trismus are acute reversible inflammatory complications of impacted mandibular third molar (M3) surgery. They contribute to the deterioration of quality of life and loss of several useful working hours. This study aimed to investigate whether the use of a surgical drain following M3 surgery can minimise these inflammatory complications.

Patients And Methods: Eighty consecutive patients who gave consent were enrolled into the study. Patients were assigned into two groups (drain and no drain) by systematic sampling method which was modified to ensure matching of patients by age, sex and spatial relationship of the impacted mandibular third molar. The patients in the drain group (n=40) had a Foley's catheter drain inserted into the wound after the surgical procedure while the patients in the no drain group (n=40) had their wound closed without the use of drain. All patients had primary wound closure with 3.0 black silk sutures after the procedure. Demographic data, cheek dimension and maximal mouth opening were recorded before the procedure. Pain, swelling and trismus were evaluated in the two groups at 24 hours, 48 hours and 7th day after surgery.

Results: Post operative swelling and visual analogue scale score for pain were comparatively lesser in the drain group patients. The maximal interincisal distance was also more in the drain group patients.

Conclusion: The findings from this study indicated that there is a significant benefit of using a surgical drain in minimising postoperative oedema, pain and trismus following surgical removal of impacted mandibular third molar.