Parental satisfaction with post-adenotonsillectomy in the developing world.

AIM/BACKGROUND: Tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures by the otolaryngologists in the pediatric population. The aim of this study is to evaluate parental expectation and satisfaction following tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Hospital-based prospective study of all consented parents whose children had tonsillectomy with or without adenoidectomy over a period of 13 months (February 2008 to February 2009) using a cross-sectional method. Pre- and post-surgical questionnaire-based Interview was conducted for them and information retrieved included biodata, pre- and post-surgical symptoms on follow-up in the clinic of obstructive sleep apnoea, snoring, mouth breathing and rhinorrhea, parental expectation and satisfaction after surgery. All data were entered into statistical data using SPSS version 11 and analyzed and the results are presented in tables and figures.

RESULTS

A total of 29 patients had adenotonsillar surgery, who were within the age range of 1.50-14 years with a mean age of 5.50 (SD=4.06+/-0.75). M:F ratio was found to be 3:1 (22 males and 7 females). Parents were satisfied with the expected outcome in terms of symptoms post-operatively in 96.6% while only one 3.4% were not satisfied.

CONCLUSION

Majority of the parents (96.6%) were satisfied with the expectation of immediate resolution of symptoms; however, obstructive adenotonsillar hypertrophy remains an important problem to be solved to achieve total parental satisfaction in adenotonsillar operations.