Pediatric adenoidectomy under vision using suction-diathermy ablation.

OBJECTIVES

To compare adenoidectomy using suction-diathermy ablation with adenoidectomy by way of curettage in a pediatric tertiary care setting.

STUDY DESIGN

A prospective series of 68 children undergoing adenoidectomy (without tonsillectomy) under vision using a suction-diathermy ablation technique over 2 years was compared with an historical control group of 58 children undergoing adenoidectomy (without tonsillectomy) by way of curettage over 2 years.

METHOD

Intraoperative blood loss was recorded and compared. Efficacy in improving nasal symptomatology was compared between the two groups using an ordinal "nasal symptom score" preoperatively and postoperatively. Complications were recorded and compared. Analysis was performed using two-tailed t tests.

RESULTS

The two groups were well matched for age, weight, and adenoid size (P > .4). Follow-up ranged from 4 to 48 months. Adenoidectomy using suction-diathermy resulted in significantly less blood loss (P < .001). The technique was no less efficacious in terms of reducing the nasal symptom score than conventional adenoidectomy by way of curettage (P = .07). Complication rates were no different. No recurrences were identified and no instances of nasopharyngeal stenosis were recognized.

CONCLUSIONS

Routine use of suction-diathermy ablation for adenoidectomy converts a difficult, often bloody procedure into a surgically precise operation. It is especially applicable to children. It may have additional advantages in aiding the prevention of the spread of the human form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease [CJD]). Compared with other recently introduced techniques for adenoidectomy, it is considerably less expensive.