Hot techniques for tonsillectomy.

(1) Some patients experience pain and bleeding after a standard or extracapsular tonsillectomy. (2) Evidence suggests that none of the hot tonsillectomy techniques offers concurrent reductions in intra- and post-operative bleeding and pain, compared with traditional cold-steel dissection with packs or ties. (3) Little information is available on the cost effectiveness of the hot techniques. (4) Diathermy is likely to remain the most commonly practised hot tonsillectomy technique.