Pediatric Outcomes for Severe and Very Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea After Total vs. Intracapsular Tonsillectomy

Intracapsular tonsillectomy is associated with decreased postoperative pain, shortened recovery, and decreased bleeding risk. No study has specifically investigated its use in patients with exclusively severe or very severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Our study aimed to report severe OSAS outcomes following intracapsular (IT) compared to total tonsillectomy (TT) in pediatric patients with severe and very severe OSAS.

We conducted a retrospective study including patients ≤ 18 years of age who underwent adenotonsillectomy or tonsillectomy between June 2018 and June 2022 at a tertiary care center. Patients were categorized preoperatively as having severe OSAS (OAHI ≥ 10) or very severe OSAS (OAHI ≥ 30). Primary outcomes included obstructive apnea-hypopnea index (OAHI), oxygen saturation nadir, presence of hypercarbia, and respiratory disturbance index (RDI) as measured on postoperative polysomnography, as well as residual OSAS requiring CPAP.

Of 57 patients in this study, the mean age was 4.5 (±2.9) and 59.7% were male. There was no significant difference in postoperative residual OSAS outcomes following surgery for patients in either severity group, with a mean time to follow up polysomnogram of 237 (range: 24-885) days.

Our study reveals that for both severe OSAS and very severe OSAS, there is no difference in the primary outcome of postoperative OAHI with regard to surgical technique; however, long-term postoperative outcomes are still needed.

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