Paediatric tonsillectomy: bipolar electrodissection and dissection/snare compared.

Tonsillectomy is a common operation in children performed by a variety of techniques. Recently we have introduced a modified form of electrodissection tonsillectomy using bipolar diathermy. A prospective study was designed to evaluate this technique against the conventional dissection/snare technique. Sixty children were entered into each section of the study (total 120 children). There is a statistically significant shorter operating time (mean 11.2 minutes) and lower intraoperative blood loss (mean 5 ml) using the bipolar diathermy technique. Post-operatively, the children who had bipolar diathermy tonsillectomy were found to be able to drink and eat significantly earlier than the cold dissection group. There was no measurable difference in analgesia requirements before discharge and the time of discharge between the two methods. Post-operative haemorrhage occurred in two out of 60 (3.4 per cent) and one out of 60 (1.7 per cent children) in the conventional and bipolar diathermy dissection, respectively, but this was not statistically significant.