Publication:

Thunderbeat versus bipolar diathermy in surgical outcome of tonsillectomy

Background Tonsillectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures performed worldwide by otorhinolaryngologists for the different indications. There are different studies in literature comparing bipolar diathermy with either harmonic scalpel or cold dissection but the thunderbeat is still not used in tonsillectomy. The thunderbeat device which is the integration of ultrasonic and advanced bipolar energies used exclusively in laparoscopic surgery but still not used in tonsillectomy. So, the main aim of this study is to compare the thunderbeat device with bipolar diathermy in surgical outcome of tonsillectomy.

Methods This was the prospective study performed in total 25 patients. The patients included in the study underwent tonsillectomy on one side using thunderbeat device and on the other side using bipolar diathermy. The intra-operative blood loss, operative time and post-operative pain were taken for analysis in both the surgical procedures. All the data were analyzed with the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) software version 20.

Results Among the twenty five patients, the age groups range from 19-36 years with mean age 25.36±5.62 years. Out of 25 patients, 7 were male and 18 were female. The comparison of operation time and intra-operative blood loss between thunderbeat and bipolar diathermy showed statistically significant differences. The comparison of pain score showed statistically significant result with better pain results in bipolar diathermy.

Conclusions The thunderbeat uses in tonsillectomies is less time consuming and decrease intra-operative blood loss. But, the post-operative pain is more as compared to bipolar diathermy. Though, it is safe and effective in performing tonsillectomy but its cost is the main drawback for its regular use.