Article
Rezidives of tonsillar hyperplasia and complications after laser-tonsillotomy in childhood
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Published: | July 8, 2008 |
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Tonsillotomy is a well-known technique of surgery that was declined for a long time. Only after the adoption of lasertechnology into clinical practice it was re-established in the form of laser assisted tonsillotomy. At the ENT clinic of AMEOS clinical center St. Salvator Halberstadt, 89 laser-tonsillotomies were carried out in the period from March 2004 to June 2007. As a rule, the indication of hyperplasia without inflammation of the tonsils is based on statements of parents and the referring physician, thus in some cases signs of tonsillar tissue inflammation were found during the operation. In three cases, due to hyperplasia rezidive, laser-tonsillotomy had to be redone. In one case, a postoperative mucosa hemorrhage occurred that could be treated without problems. The mean age of the treated children was 3.91 years; the youngest being 1 year, the oldest being 13 years old. Most of them stayed in the hospital for 4 days. In no case the medical insurance raised an objection. Generally, a laser-shield endotracheal tube was used during operation. In our opinion the laser-tonsillotomy is a reliable and recommendable operation method with a low rate of rezidives and complications.