title: Comparison of pediatric and adult tonsillectomies performed by thermal welding system.
abstract: Objective. To compare pediatric and adult age groups in terms of postoperative bleeding and pain following tonsillectomy performed by thermal welding system (TWS). Method. The study consisted of 213 patients, of whom 178 were children and 35 were adults. The mean age of the pediatric patients (81 girls and 97 females) was 6.7 ± 2.4 years (range 3-13 years) and the mean age of the adults (20 males and 15 females) was 21.8 ± 7.07 years (range 15-41 years). All of the patients were evaluated in terms of postoperative bleeding and pain following tonsillectomy performed by TWS. Results. Bleeding was detected in the late postoperative period in 11 pediatric and 7 adult patients and of them 2 pediatric and 3 adult patients controlled under general. Postoperative bleeding was significantly less prevalent in the pediatric age group compared to the adult age group (P = 0.04). Likewise, postoperative pain was significantly less prevalent in the pediatric age group as compared to the adult age group (P < 0.001). Conclusion. Both postoperative bleeding and pain following tonsillectomy performed by TWS were more prevalent in the adult age group compared to the pediatric age group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Elbistan State Hospital, 46300 Kahramanmaras, Turkey.
authors.forename: Tolga
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ersözlü
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Adnan Menderes Bulvarı, Vatan Caddesi Fatih, 34093 Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yavuz Selim
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Yıldırım
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Afşin State Hospital, 46300 Kahramanmaras, Turkey.
authors.forename: Selman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sarica