Vol.98 No.7 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 98 No. 7 July 2005
Children Undergoing Tonsillectomy Only
Need Short Pastoperative Hospitalization
Toshinori Iwagaki and Yasutaka Otake
(Tokoname Municipal Hospital)
Tsutomu Nakashima
(Nagoya University School of Medicine)
Tonsillectomy is the most common surgery performed on children in the field of otorhinolaryngology. In Japan, children who undergo tonsillectomy are generally hospitalized for approximately one week postoperatively. In contrast, in Europe and America, tonsillectomy is performed in the outpatient clinic or only involves one night of hospitalization. One hundred and eight children (57 boys and 51 girls) underwent tonsillectomy between August 1999 and June 2004 in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Tokoname Municipal Hospital. To determine the minimal and most suitable duration of hospitalization for children after tonsillectomy, we reviewed the following parameters; the absence or presence of postoperative hemorrhage, the interval till children were able to eat normal meals after tonsillectomy, and the duration of postoperative hospitalization. The mean period till when children could eat normal meals was 3.2 days in boys and 3.3 days in girls, respectively. Seventy-one children (65.6％) and 93 children (86.1％) could eat normal meals on the third and fourth postoperative day, respectively. Intravenous fluid administration was stopped when children could eat normal meals. Most children were discharged the day after they could eat normally. The mean postoperative hospitalization was 4.6 days in boys and 4.9 days in girls, respectively.
Postoperative hemorrhage occurred in three children; primary hemorrhage (within the first postoperative 24 hours) in one case, and secondary hemorrhage that occurred on the seventh day postoperatively in two cases. In these cases, hemorrhage was controlled without surgical treatment.
We concluded that children receiving tonsillectomy can be discharged on the third or fourth postoperative day under the condition that postoperative hemorrhage can be managed properly.
Key words : children, tonsillectomy, hospitalization, postoperative hemorrhage