Can Tonsillectomy Be Safely Performed by Residents? A Comparative Retrospective Study

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Pediatric Surgery
• Surgical Education

Background:

• Tonsillectomy is a common pediatric surgical procedure.
• Assessing the impact of surgeon training level on patient outcomes is crucial for surgical quality improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if a surgeon's training level (senior vs. resident) affects outcomes in pediatric tonsillectomy.
• To evaluate the safety and efficacy of tonsillectomies performed by supervised residents.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 785 pediatric tonsillectomies (2006-2016).
• Comparison of outcomes between operations performed by senior surgeons and resident surgeons under supervision.
• Key outcome measures included intraoperative bleeding, oral intake initiation, and complications.

Main Results:

• Surgical times were longer for residents (33.2 min) than seniors (27.1 min) (P=.032).
• Intraoperative bleeding and same-day oral intake initiation showed no significant differences between groups.
• Postoperative bleeding rates requiring readmission or revision surgery were similar for both resident (3.0%) and senior (2.5%) groups.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric tonsillectomy outcomes are comparable regardless of whether performed by a senior surgeon or a supervised resident.
• The study supports the safety of pediatric tonsillectomy when performed by resident surgeons under attending physician supervision.