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KTP‐532 laser tonsillectomy: A comparison with standard technique
Author(s) -
Oas Richard E.,
Bartels James P.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1288/00005537-199004000-00010
Subject(s) - medicine , tonsillectomy , surgery , blood loss , dissection (medical) , tonsil , postoperative pain , laser , anesthesia , optics , physics
It has been stated that laser excision of oral and oro‐pharyngeal lesions result in less intraoperative blood loss, reduced postoperative pain, and quicker wound healing, but few controlled studies have been done to substantiate these claims. A study was undertaken to examine the benefits of the KTP‐532 laser in a group of 31 patients who underwent tonsillectomy. One tonsil was removed with the KTP‐532 laser and the other was excised with conventional dissection and snare technique. Patients were not told which tonsil was removed with the laser. Pain, healing, and intraoperative blood loss comparing one side to the other was assessed. On the evening of surgery, 83% of patients selected the side that underwent standard dissection and snare tonsillectomy as the most painful. By midweek, however, approximately equal numbers of patients selected the laser side as the most painful. At the end of 1 week, 63% of patients felt more pain on the laser dissection side. Possible reasons for these results are discussed. Intraoperative blood loss was significantly reduced with the use of the KTP‐532 laser, but healing was not accelerated.