[Postoperative pain in tonsillectomy in general anesthesia and local infiltration]

The aim of this study is to demonstrate that blockade by bupivacaine of nociceptors located at the same level than the anterior tonsillar pillar, can reduce the pain in the postoperative period following tonsillectomy, thus, making easier the recovery of these patients at home. For this purpose, fifty children aged 2 to 13 years old, are studied. A double blind study is performed distributing the children randomly in two groups. One group is infiltrated prior to surgery with 1 cm3 of bupivacaine 0.25% + epinephrine 1:200,000 in three points of the anterior tonsillar pilla, while the other group is infiltrated with normal saline. The pain in the immediate postoperative period (60 minutes) is classified in five categories by a visual pain scale (scored 1-10). Short term postoperative (7 days) is also classified in five categories by a scale (scored 1-10) based in the information provided by the mother. Statistical analyses of the data is performed considering the statistical significance of the correlations obtained from the Chi2 and Student's tests.

pre-incisional infiltration in the anterior tonsillar pillar with bupivacaine in the tonsillectomy will cause a remarkable reduction in the intensity of the postoperative pain.