Comparative study of adult tonsillectomy in two methods: harmonic scalpel and classical surgery

Abstract

Abstract Background Tonsillectomy is a common surgery to treat tonsillitis. In addition to cold dissection methods, other new methods are also used for tonsillectomy which has several advantages. We compared the cold dissection methods and the harmonic scalpel method and investigated the complications of both methods. Methods This is a descriptive analytical study on 50 patients in the population of 18 to 60 years who had tonsillectomy conditions based on the inclusion criteria. These patients were divided into two groups, harmonic scalpel method and cold dissection methods, and the duration of the operation, the amount of bleeding during the operation, the pain on the first, fourth, and seventh days after the operation, and the bleeding after the operation were measured in them. Results In this study, 36 men and 14 women were examined. The duration of surgery and the amount of bleeding during surgery were significantly less in the harmonic scalpel method group than in the cold dissection methods group (P = 0.000). Postoperative pain on days 1 and 4 after surgery was significantly less in the harmonic scalpel method group than in the cold dissection methods group (P = 0.047). Conclusion According to this study, the amount of bleeding and length of surgery were less in the harmonic scalpel method group. The pain on the first and fourth days after surgery was less in the harmonic group, but the pain on the seventh day was not significantly different from the cold dissection group.