Modified Roman Sandal: a more effective and reliable surgical drain anchoring technique

Abstract

Displacement of surgical drains from their intended attachment location can lead, in some cases, to a secondary operation in order to avoid recovery complications. Displacements are usually due to the loosening of a drain's anchoring. The common practice of drain anchoring involves the Roman Sandal technique. This manuscript compares the mechanical behaviour of this conventional drain suturing technique to the modified Roman Sandal technique developed herein. Identical mechanical cyclic tests mimicking breathing action were conducted on both suturing techniques to determine which is more reliable. The obtained results revealed that the modified Roman Sandal technique is a much more reliable when compared to the Roman Sandal technique.