Tonsillectomy by Diode Laser Versus Cold Steel Dissection Method in Children, Basra, South of Iraq

Abstract

Background: Tonsillectomy continues to be a commonly performed operation by the otolaryngologist, although many different methods for tonsillectomy were developed. Aim of study: To compare between tonsillectomy by diode laser and cold steel dissection regarding the operative time, post-operative pain and post-operative bleeding. Method: The study included fifty tonsillectomies were performed in the ENT department of Basra General Hospital from February to December 2008. All patients were diagnosed as having chronic or recurrent tonsillitis. Any patient with acute infection or craniofacial anomalies was excluded from the study. The right tonsil dissected by diode laser whiles the left one by cold steel dissection. The average time of surgery was calculated and the post-operative pain at the night of surgery and two weeks later was noticed. data analysis was done by SPSS 11.0 Results: The mean time calculated for laser tonsillectomy was 4 minutes while by dissection method was 6.5 minutes with a statistically significant. about 84% of the tonsil that removed by Diode laser as being the most painful, while 10% of the tonsil that removed by dissection method as being most painful. In all patients under the study no post-operative bleeding was occurred so there is no difference between the two methods regarding the incidence of post tonsillectomy bleeding. Conclusion: The diode laser significantly reduced the operative time but increased post-operative pain. There was no significant difference in the incidence of post-operative bleeding by the two methods.