Postoperative Complications of Tonsillectomy Between Dissection and Diathermy Method at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Objective: To compare postoperative complications following dissection and diathermy tonsillectomy.
Methodology: This comparative analysis was conducted from August 2018 to July 2019 on a sample of 206 patients undergoing tonsillectomy at the Department of ENT, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro. Data on demographic variables and complications, including hemorrhage, uvular edema, and blood aspiration, were collected. Patients were followed for two weeks to monitor complications. All information was recorded using self-structured questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS version 20.

Results: A total of 206 patients were included, with a mean age of 12.02 ± 4.12 years. Males comprised 65.05% of the sample, and females accounted for 34.95%. Among the postoperative complications, hemorrhage was the most common (68.1%), followed by uvular edema (20.83%) and blood aspiration (11.07%). Of the 206 patients, 72 experienced complications, while 134 had no complications. Of the 49 patients with hemorrhage, primary hemorrhage was the most frequent type (48.98%), followed by secondary hemorrhage (36.73%) and reactionary hemorrhage (14.29%). Hemorrhage rates were significantly higher in patients undergoing dissection tonsillectomy (P=0.001), with primary and reactionary hemorrhage also significantly more frequent in this group (P=0.001). Uvular edema was more common in patients who underwent diathermy tonsillectomy, while blood aspiration showed no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05).
Conclusion: Complications such as hemorrhage and uvular edema were more prevalent in the diathermy tonsillectomy group, whereas blood aspiration rates were comparable between the two groups.

Keywords: chronic tonsillitis, tonsillectomy, dissection method, diathermy, hemorrhage