Short-Term Outcomes of Tonsillectomy in Large Paediatric Case Series

Tonsillectomy is a commonly performed procedure in pediatric ENT departments worldwide. To comprehensively evaluate the morbidity associated with tonsillectomy techniques and potential factors that impact outcomes The present study examined the entirety of pediatric patients who underwent tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy at CUCH during the years 2021 and 2022. Comprehensive scrutiny was conducted on admissions and readmission data, which encompassed hospital episode statistics, operative notes, patient questionnaires, and electronic records. A total of 690 procedures were identified in our records, with 399 males and 291 females ranging in age from 1 to 13 years. The main indications for surgery included sleep-disordered breathing and recurrent tonsillitis. Among the patients, 233 underwent the surgery as a day case. Coblation intracapsular technique was used in 52% of cases, dissection method in 37%, and coblation extracapsular method in 10%. The incidence of post tonsillectomy bleeding (&infection) was 8.19%( 1.75%),14.89%(2.08%), 1.65%(1.65%) for dissection, coblation extracapsular and coblation intracapsular techniques respectively. Coblation intracapsular tonsillectomy has shown the lowest rate of postoperative hemorrhage compared to other techniques. Senior surgeons (consultants) had the lowest rate of post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage; however, this difference did not reach statistical significance.