Post-tonsillectomy pain: the first ten days

Abstract

Forty-one adults were entered into a prospective study to investigate the pattern of pain over 10 days after elective dissection tonsillectomy. The severity of pain was scored by the patient on a visual analogue scale. The results confirm that tonsillectomy is a very painful experience and the provision of adequate analgesia is of paramount importance, especially if day-case tonsillectomy is performed.

Acetaminophen analgesia in children: placebo effect and pain resolution after tonsillectomy

“…If we assume some pain resolution in the ®rst night after surgery, then literature reports of pain scores the day after surgery are consistent with this placebo model. Three studies have reported the time course of pain resolution over a 2-week period after tonsillectomy [1,37,38]. The patterns described were similar in all three studies.…”

“…The patterns described were similar in all three studies. Pain scores in adults of approximately 6.3 for the ®rst 5 days were reported in two of these studies [37,38]. and the third reported a score of 7.1 for this time period [1].…”

Effect of cold-water cooling of tonsillar fossa and pharyngeal mucosa on post-tonsillectomy pain

“…Postoperative pain is a notable drawback that can affect the duration of stay at a hospital, the returning period to work and social activities, and the patient's diet [1]. Thermal injury produced by electric surgical devices is the main cause of post-tonsillectomy pain and inflammatory mediators also induce pain by stimulating pharyngeal nociceptors [2].…”

A prospective randomised single blinded study comparing harmonic scalpel tonsillectomy with bipolar tonsillectomy

“…Tonsillectomy causes considerable pain in children and lasts more than 7 days [1][2][3][4][5]. Delayed hemorrhage also remains a cause of post-tonsillectomy morbidity [6][7][8][9].…”