Vol.98No.11contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 98 No. 11 November 2005
Post-Operative Pain in Tonsillectomy with
the Harmonic Scalpel
Atsuhito Takahashi, Kazuhiko Shoji, Satoshi Ikegami,
Shinji Suzuki, Yo Kishimoto and Tsuyoshi Kojima
(Tenri Hospital)
Tonsillectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures for otolaryngologists. Although tonsillectomy procedures are common, like any surgical procedure, there are post-operative complaints and complications. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the pattern of post-operative pain in tonsillectomy using the harmonic scalpel (HS). 43 patients were entered into this study (13 men, 20 women, 10 children). The severity of pain was scored by the patient on a numerical rating scale (NRS). The assessment was performed in three groups (men, women, children). The mean scores in men and women had no statistical difference. But, children felt less pain than adults (men and women). The difference between the two groups was statistically significant. We confirmed that the level of pain is worse between day 2 and day 5 in some adults (42％), but the same trend was not found in children. We thought that the NRS was an useful tool to evaluate post-surgical pain.
Key words : pain, tonsillectomy, harmonic scalpel, numerical rating scale (NRS)