Characteristics of Postoperative Bleeding after Neck Surgery

Objective: To review the characteristics of and the procedure for preventing postoperative bleeding after neck surgery. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of 9 patients (9/893; 1.0%) with postoperative bleeding who required reoperation was performed to analyze clinical findings. Results: There was no significant difference in the incidence of bleeding between types of surgical procedures. Postoperative bleeding occurred within 24 hours in all cases except 2, in which it occurred 7 days or more after the operation. Seven cases showed bleeding from the cut surface of the muscle. Other bleeding points included vessels and the Berry ligament. There were no additional complications after reoperation. Conclusion: When separating the muscles in neck surgery, it is important to sufficiently ligate vessels and induce coagulation with an ultrasonically activated scalpel to prevent postoperative bleeding.