Consequences of adenoidectomy in conjunction with tonsillectomy in children.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this prospective study was to investigate the role of adenoidectomy in children undergoing elective adenotonsillectomy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: All consecutive children less than 15 years of age operated on over a 12-month period were included. Adenoidectomy was done with curettes and forceps under mirror visualization and tonsillectomy with a unipolar electrodissection technique. Duration of the operation, intra-operative blood loss, and post-operative complications were recorded.

RESULTS: Adenotonsillectomy was done in 98 children with a mean age of 7.8 years. The mean duration of adenoidectomy was 10.3 min (S.E. 0.7), 51.8% of the time used for adenotonsillectomy and 25. 9% of the total operating room time. The blood loss was 43.6 ml (S.E. 5.4) and 7.8 ml (S.E. 2.5) for adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy, respectively. Both the duration (P=0.04) and blood loss (P=0.0005) of adenoidectomy increased significantly with the increasing age of children. Post-adenoidectomy complications did not occur.

CONCLUSION: Even though adenoidectomy prolonged the operating time and increased the intra-operative blood loss, especially in older children the procedure in general remained relatively short and safe. However, adding adenoidectomy to tonsillectomy should always be carefully considered, particularly in children 10 years or older operated on principally because of palatine tonsil disease.