Tonsillectomy in Australia: an audit of surgical technique and postoperative care

To assess current tonsillectomy practice among Australian otolaryngologists.

An audit based on an anonymous 19-item postal questionnaire on tonsillectomy technique and perioperative management sent to all Australian otolaryngology specialists.

Two hundred eighty-four otolaryngologists registered with the Australian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery database were sent the questionnaire.

A 72.5 percent response rate was obtained. Monopolar diathermy was the most common technique for dissection (45%) and hemostasis (54%). Bipolar diathermy was used for hemostasis in 20 percent. Cold-steel dissection was routinely used by 36 percent, ties were used for hemostasis only by 11 percent of surgeons. The use of local anesthetic, dexamethasone, and postoperative antibiotics was 45 percent, 40 percent, and 20 percent, respectively. Seventy-six percent of surgeons always observed tonsil patients overnight.

Australian surgeons still use monopolar diathermy as their preferred technique for tonsillectomy. Local anesthetic, dexamethasone, and postoperative antibiotics are used infrequently, and fewer than 1:4 surgeons perform day-case tonsillectomy.