Child behavior and quality of life before and after tonsillotomy versus tonsillectomy

Introduction: The objective of the present investigation was to compare two techniques for pediatric tonsil surgery with respect to postoperative pain and morbidity and changes in sleep behavior, health related quality of life (HRQL) and benefit due to surgery. Methods: 67 children (4,5-5,5 years) with tonsillar hypertrophy and obstructive sleep related distress with or without recurrent tonsillitis were randomized to either regular tonsillectomy (TE)(n=32) or intracapsular tonsillectomy/tonsillotomy (TT) (n=35) with Radiofrequency surgical technique (Ellman Int) Before TT/TE, the parents completed a validated Quality of Life survey of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea, the OSA18 (Obstructive Sleep Apnea-18) and a standardized assessment of their children-s behavior with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Six months after surgery, the parents repeated these measurements, and assessed the health related benefits of the surgery using the Glasgow Children´s Benefit Inventory (GCBI). Results: In the TT group, the children recorded less pain from the first day after surgery onwards, used fewer doses of painkillers and were pain-free 3 days earlier than the children in the TE group. Six months after surgery, there was no significant difference between TT and TE with regard to snoring and ENT-infections. The differences were all significant in the total scores and in all the individual domains between the initial OSA-18 and post-surgery scores (p<0.0001). The improvement in the total problem score measured with CBCL was also significant (p<0.01) and there were no differences between the TT and TE children. The improvements in all sub scores of the GCBI indicated a significant health benefit of both TT and TE. Conclusions: TT with RF-surgery is a safe method, which causes less pain and postoperative morbidity than regular TE and has a similar effect on snoring and recurrent infections. Young children with tonsillar hypertrophy and different degrees of obstructive sleep related distress all show an impact on HRQL and behavior. All improve dramatically after a tonsillar operation-improving just as much after TT as after TE. Based on these results, TT should be the first choice for treatment of these small children. Support: Financial support from the Research Council of South East Sweden (FORSS).