Measurement of the True Incidence of Secondary Haemorrhage Post Tonsillectomy_ Crimson Publishers
Measurement of the True Incidence of Secondary Haemorrhage Post Tonsillectomy by Luke Holmes and Vik Veer* in Crimson Publishers: Surgery Open Access Journal Aim: To determine the ‘true’ secondary haemorrhage rate post-tonsillectomy . Methods: A telephone survey was conducted of 127 consecutive patients who had a tonsillectomy at the Freeman Hospital over a two-month period. Results: 99 patients were contactable. There were 38 post-tonsillectomy bleeds, 23 of which were minor and 15 significant. 23 bleeds went unreported and four of these were significant. 11 percent of bleeds post-cold steel tonsillectomy were significant, compared to 28 percent of bleeds post-diathermy dissection . Conclusion: There is a high incidence of unreported bleeding (61 percent of those that bled) and a third of adults who suffered a significant bleed did not report it. Diathermy had a significantly higher proportion of significant bleeds compared to cold steel. It is recommended if secon
