Post tonsillectomy haemorrhage.

In a review of 3,756 cases of tonsillectomy the incidence of reactionary and secondary haemorrhage was the same-1 per cent. Both types of haemorrhage were commoner in adults. In the 10-19 age group, significantly more females than males had secondary bleeding. Although the majority occurred during the winter months, no patient with secondary haemorrhage had obvious respiratory tract infection. The use of diathermy at operation, while associated with a higher rate of secondary bleeding, significantly reduced the number of reactionary haemorrhages which are responsible for a high proportion of post-tonsillectomy fatalities.