Revisit rates following pediatric coblation tonsillectomy.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the rate of emergency department (ED) revisits and hospital readmissions following coblation tonsillectomy in children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and/or recurrent tonsillitis.

METHODS

A total of 2045 children underwent coblation tonsillectomy were recruited in the retrospective study. The number of revisits or readmissions was recorded and the reasons were analyzed.

RESULTS

Overall, 119 (5.8%) had unplanned revisits after surgery. Of those children, 98 (4.8%) had one revisit, 19 (0.92%) had second revisits, and 2 (0.097%) had third revisits. The interval between surgery and first revisit or second revisit was 7.1 ± 5.2 days and 11.3 ± 4.8 days, respectively. The reasons for first revisits were hemorrhage, fever, pain, nausea/vomiting, dehydration. The reasons for second revisits were pain, hemorrhage, fever. Children with younger age (1-3 years old) and more blood loss during surgery had higher rate of first revisit rate. Most revisits were controlled well and only 4 cases of re-surgery was needed.

CONCLUSIONS

Revisit rate and reason after coblation tonsillectomy in children were similar to other surgical methods. Coblation tonsillectomy is a safe and effective surgery for children.