Comparison of post-tonsillectomy morbidity operated with Cold Knife and Coblation in patients with Sleep Apnea

Objective: To compare post-tonsillectomy morbidity between the Snare and Coblation methods in patients with sleep apnea. Method: The study is performed in 49 cases. Twentyone patients who were operated by Snare method while the other 28 patients underwent coblation tonsillectomy. The amount of intraoperative bleeding has been recorded. The pain levels at the postoperative hours 6th and 12th.; on the postoperative days of 1, 3, 7 the patients were assessed through VAS and Wong-Baker-Faces-Pain-Rating-Scale (WBFPRS) and were compared between two groups. The Tonsillar-Fossa-Wound-Healing-Score (TFWHS) assessment was carried out for the wound healing rate on the postoperative days of 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10. Results: The patients who underwent coblation had significantly lower amounts of bleeding compared to the snare method (p=0.046). The patients who were assessed within the scope of this study and underwent tonsillectomy with snare method had significantly higher 6th hour VAS and WBFPRS scores (p=0.011, p=0.005); whereas 12th hour, days of 1, 2, 3 and 7 VAS and WBFPRS scores were similar. TFWHSs of the studied patients who underwent coblation were significantly higher on the days of 1 and 3 (p=0.007; p=0.008) but these scores were similar on days of 5, 7, and 10. Conclusion: The study has showed that the amount of intraoperative bleeding of the cases underwent coblation is significantly lower. The lower early period postoperative pain resulting in earlier oral intake and better recovery scores for the tonsillary fossa seems to be the advantages of the coblation as opposed to the snare method.