THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF TONSILLAR FOSSA CLOSURE AFTER TONSILLECTOMY; A PROSPECTIVE STUDY

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of tonsillar fossa closure after tonsillectomy on the amount of intra-operative blood loss, post-operative pain and bleeding. Sixty patients enrolled in this single blind case control study held at Basrah Teaching Hospital in the period from July 2017 to November 2018. Patients age was between 7 to 50 years, of them 28 (46.7%) females and 32 (53.3%) males. One of tonsillar fossae was selected for closure and the other was left open as a control side, the duration of dissection, the amount of bleeding for each side, the level of post-operative pain on (0, 3, 7, 10-14) days was estimated utilizing Visual Analogue Score (VAS) together with any evidence of post-operative bleeding. There was statistically significant reduction in the level of post-operative pain in the sutured side compared to the control for all the follow-up periods. No significant differences in the amount of intra-operative blood loss between both sides were found. None of the patients experienced post-operative primary or secondary hemorrhage. In conclusion, Closure of tonsillar fossa has beneficial effect in reducing the level of post-operative pain after tonsillectomy with no effect on post-operative bleeding. No difference was noted regarding the amount of intra-operative bleeding.

Keywords

• surgery
• tonsillectomy
• fossa closure
• bleeding
• pain