A clinical trial has compared the recovery times of adults who had undergone laser tonsillotomy under local anesthesia and conventional tonsillectomy with general anesthesia.
The tonsils are a pair of soft tissue masses in the back of the mouth and the top of the throat. They help to filter out bacteria and other germs to prevent infection in the body. A bacterial or viral infection of the tonsils is called tonsillitis. Tonsillitis is a common condition in children, teenagers, and young adults. The symptoms of tonsillitis include a sore throat and pain when swallowing. Although medication and home remedies can help treat tonsillitis, repeated infections of these tissues can necessitate surgical removal.
Tonsillectomy is a common surgical procedure for removing tonsils that are inflamed or infected. However, the conventional tonsillectomy procedure is associated with postoperative complications such as pain, bleeding, and extended recovery times. As a result, newer techniques like laser tonsillotomy have been developed to minimize postoperative complications and reduce recovery times.
The clinical trial compared the recovery times, postoperative pain, and bleeding following conventional and laser tonsil surgeries.
The study recruited 199 adult patients who were randomly assigned to either the laser tonsillotomy group or the conventional tonsillectomy group. The laser tonsillotomy procedure was performed under local anesthesia, while the conventional tonsillectomy was performed under general anesthesia. The patient's functional recovery was measured along with the time to return to work after surgery, resolution of primary symptoms, the severity of remaining symptoms, surgical complications, postoperative pain, analgesics use, and overall patient satisfaction.