The effect of tonsillotomy on chronic recurrent tonsillitis in children

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine whether partial tonsillectomy (tonsillotomy) impacts the occurrence of acute or recurrent tonsillitis in children.

Methods: One hundred and eighty patients (1–14 years) were retrospectively surveyed by a questionnaire or by data analysis of a regional database. Subjects who suffered from severe systemic diseases or immunodeficiency syndromes were excluded. Episodes of acute tonsillitis before and after surgery, rate of antibiotic treatment, postoperative hemorrhage, and re-operation were obtained.

Results: Fifty-one patients suffered from preoperative tonsillitis. The rate of reinfection was 9.8%. The frequency of tonsillitis was significantly reduced in children after tonsillotomy (p < .001). Further, tonsillotomy led to a significant reduction of antibiotic treatment (p < .001). The rate of definitive tonsillectomy was 1.1% and thus effectiveness was very high. About 1.7% of all children suffered from postoperative bleeding, of which one (0.6%) required surgical revision. None of the bleedings was life threatening.

Conclusions: Tonsillotomy is beneficial for patients with recurrent tonsillitis and carries less risk of postoperative complications than tonsillectomy.

Chinese abstract

目的：本研究的目的是确定扁桃体部分切除术（扁桃体切开术）是否会影响儿童急性或复发性扁桃体炎的发生。

方法：通过问卷调查或区域数据库的数据分析, 回顾性调查了一百八十名患者（1-14岁）。患有严重全身性疾病或免疫缺陷综合征的受试者被排除在外。获得了有关手术前后急性扁桃体炎发生率、抗生素治疗率、术后出血率和再手术率的资料。

结果：51例患者患术前扁桃体炎。再感染率为9.8％。扁桃体切除术后, 扁桃体炎的发生频率显著降低（p <0.001）。此外, 扁桃体切开术导致抗生素治疗的显着减少（p <0.001）。确定性扁桃体切除术率为1.1％, 效果非常好。所有儿童中, 约1.7％患有术后出血, 其中一例（0.6％）需要手术修复。没有一例出血是危及生命的。

结论：扁桃体切开术有利于复发性扁桃体炎患者, 术后并发症风险低于扁桃体切除术。

Keywords:

• Tonsil surgery
• throat infections
• inflammation
• post-tonsillectomy complications

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.