Tonsillotomy versus Tonsillectomy for Chronic Recurrent Tonsillitis in Children

Özet

Objective: This study was conducted to compare twodifferent surgical methods; partial tonsil resectionusing the bipolar technique, tonsillotomy (TT), andtotal tonsillectomy (TE) (blunt dissection) for recurrent tonsillitis in children. The frequency of recurrentthroat infections was determined during postoperative follow-up.Methods: A total of 393 patients were included in thisstudy. TT was performed on 174 patients (100 males,74 females) and TE on 219 patients (112 males, 107females). Following surgery, an analysis was made oftreatment outcomes of patients with upper respiratory tract infections. The patients were followed up for12-48 months. Their parents were also contacted bytelephone to determine the frequency of reinfectionand their satisfaction with the surgery. Also, parentsof the patients completed a questionnaire pertainingto postoperative satisfaction (scale of 1-10).Results: In the TT group, 14 (8.1%) patients had recurrent tonsillitis postoperatively. In the TE group, 12(5.4%) patients required antibiotherapy due to recurrent pharyngitis after the surgery. There was no significant difference between the two groups in termsof the one-year infection recurrence rate after surgery(p=0.281). Three patients (1.6%) in the TT group and12 (5.4%) in the TE group complained of bleedingwithin the first 24 hours. The rate of bleeding was significantly lower in the TT group than the TE group(p=0.001). There were no fatalities in either group.Conclusion: In both groups, the rate of reinfectionaccorded with the requirement for postoperative antibiotics. For recurrent tonsillitis, TT was as effectiveas TE. However, TT was superior in terms of the riskof bleeding.