BYH Wong, YW Ng, Y Hui

Abstract

Tonsillectomy is a very common surgical procedure performed worldwide. We retrospectively reviewed the data on tonsillectomy in the past 10 years from 1996 to 2006. There were a total of 329 children undergoing tonsillectomy. The median age was 6.8 years. Two hundred and sixty (79%) children received tonsillectomy for obstructive sleep apnoea, 69 (21%) for recurrent tonsillitis. The average operative time was 1 hour and 4 minutes. Intraoperative complication included 1 dislodged endotracheal tube during surgery while postoperative complication included 8 (2.4%) secondary haemorrhage. The average length of stay in hospital was 2.5 days. Majority of children resumed soft diet on day 2 after surgery. Tonsillectomy remains a safe and important operation in the field of Paediatric Otolaryngology.