Early post-tonsillectomy morbidity following hospital discharge: do patients and GPs know what to expect?

Tonsillectomy is a commonly performed operation; like many others there is increasing pressure for it to be performed as a day-case procedure, with no follow-up for the majority of patients. This paper presents the results of a prospective study of the incidence of post-tonsillectomy morbidity, the recognition of these symptoms by patients, and their management by general practitioners. The results indicate: a lack of awareness by patients of symptoms they might expect post-operatively, despite written and verbal information given; an over-prescription of antibiotics by general practitioners for normal post-operative symptoms such as throat pain, temporary voice changes and referred otalgia; and a failure by patients to recognise the importance of the potentially life-threatening complication of secondary haemorrhage from the tonsillar bed.