Table 1 Characteristics of included systematic reviews
Review | No. of RCTs | No. of patients | Comparator | Surgical Procedure | Outcomes Reported | GRADE rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colectomy | ||||||
 Tou, 2011 [15] | 6 | 417 | Conventional and ABP | Laparoscopic Colectomy | Operating time, length of stay, conversion to alternative technique, postoperative blood loss, overall complications, total cost | Low to Moderate |
Hemorrhoidectomy | ||||||
 Mushaya, 2014 [17] | 8 | 468 | Conventional | Hemorrhoidectomy | Operating time, length of stay, pain, time to return to work, overall complications | Low to High |
 Balciscueta, 2021 [18] | 4 | 278 | Conventional | Hemorrhoidectomy (grade III-IV) | Pain | Low |
Gastrectomy | ||||||
 Chen, 2014 [19] | 7a | 1930 | Conventional | Open gastrectomy for gastric cancer | Operating time, length of stay, drainage volume, intraoperative blood loss, transfusion, overall complications, number of lymph nodes dissected | Moderate |
 Cheng, 2015 [20] | 10 | 935 | Conventional | Gastrectomy and D2 Lymphadenectomy for Gastric Cancer | Operating time, length of stay, drainage volume, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative death, hospital costs | Low to Moderate |
 Sun, 2015 [21] | 5 | 489 | Conventional | Open gastrectomy for gastric cancer | Operating time, length of stay, drainage volume, transfusion, hemorrhage, overall complications | Low to Moderate |
Mastectomy | ||||||
 Cheng, 2016 [22] | 12 | 965 | Conventional | Mastectomy and BCS with LND | Operating time, length of stay, drainage volume, intraoperative blood loss, hematoma, seroma, overall complication, wound infection | Low to Moderate |
 Zhang, 2018 [23] | 10b | NR | Conventional | Mastectomy and BCS with LND | Operating time, length of stay, drainage volume, drain time, intraoperative blood loss, hematoma, seroma, overall complication, wound infection, other complications | Low to Moderate |
Flap Harvesting | ||||||
 Kim, 2022 [24] | 8 | 505 | Conventional | Flap surgery for various flap types | Operating time, drainage volume, Intraoperative blood loss, hematoma, wound infection, additional complication, overall complication | Low to Moderate |
Cholecystectomy | ||||||
 Sasi, 2010 [25] | 7 | 695 | Conventional | Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy | Operating time, length of stay, conversion to alternative technique, pain, time to return to work, overall complications, bile leak, gallbladder perforation | Low to High |
 Xiong, 2012 [26] | 11 | 1434 | Conventional | Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy | Operating time, length of stay, conversion to an alternative technique, pain, intraoperative bleeding, nausea/vomiting, other complications, bile leak, gallbladder perforation | Low to High |
 Jiang, 2017 [27] | 19 | 1955 | Conventional | Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy | Operating time, length of stay, pain, intraoperative blood loss, gallbladder perforation | Low to Moderate |
Thyroidectomy | ||||||
 Cirocchi, 2010 [28] | 7 | 608 | Conventional | Total thyroidectomy | Operating time, drainage volume, intraoperative blood loss, vocal cord and RLN palsy/paralysis—temp, vocal cord and RLN palsy/paralysis—perm, hypocalcemia | Moderate |
 Ecker, 2010 [29] | 10 | 485 | Conventional and ABP | Total, hemi-, and subtotal thyroidectomy | Operating time, length of stay, drainage volume, pain, intraoperative blood loss, overall complications | Very Low to Low |
 Melck, 2010 [30] | 9 | 822 | Conventional | Total and subtotal thyroidectomy | Operating time, vocal cord and RLN palsy/paralysis—temp, hypocalcemia | Moderate |
 Cheng, 2015 [31] | 14 | 2516 | Conventional | Total thyroidectomy | Operating time, length of stay, drainage volume, pain, intraoperative blood loss, hematoma, seroma, vocal cord and RLN palsy/paralysis—temp, hypocalcemia | Low to Moderate |
 Cannizzaro, 2016 [16] | 17 | 2596 | Conventional and ABP | Total thyroidectomy | Operating time, length of stay, pain, intraoperative blood loss, overall complications | Very Low to Low |
 Cheng, 2016 [32] | 7 | 954 | Conventional | Total thyroidectomy | Total costs | NA |
 Revelli, 2016 [33] | 21 | 3125 | Conventional | Total thyroidectomy | Operating time, length of stay, drain placed, pain, intraoperative blood loss, additional wound complications, vocal cord and RLN palsy/paralysis—temp, hypocalcemia | Low to Moderate |
 Upadhyaya, 2016 [34] | 7 | 981 | ABP | Partial and total thyroidectomy | Operating time, length of stay, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative blood loss, mean thyroid weight, calcium levels | Low to Moderate |
 Aires, 2018 [35] | 31 | NR | Conventional | Total thyroidectomy | Operating time, intraoperative blood loss, hematoma, laryngeal nerve injury, number of lymph nodes removed | Moderate |
 Hua, 2019 [36] | 23 | 5408 | Conventional | Total thyroidectomy | Hematoma | NA |
Tonsillectomy | ||||||
 Alexiou, 2011 [37] | 11c | 3139 | Conventional | Total tonsillectomy | Operating time, pain, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative blood loss | Very Low to Low |
Neck Dissection | ||||||
 Ren, 2015 [38] | 7 | 406 | Conventional | Neck dissection | Operating time, length of stay, drainage volume, intraoperative blood loss | Low to Moderate |