Shorter Outpatient Tonsillectomy Recovery Found Safe

A new study has found that a shorter post-operative recovery stay following outpatient tonsillectomy is both safe and cost-efficient.

Researchers from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA, USA) reviewed the records of 797 charts of outpatient pediatric adenotonsillectomies performed by one surgeon. Mean patient age was 6.8 years. The study found no increased complications with an average discharge time of one hour and 47 minutes, which was significantly less time than prior studies, which showed that patients should remain at least two hours and 18 minutes. The findings were published in the November 29, 2006, issue of the Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology.

"After analyzing so many records, the biggest surprise was the lack of complications in patients who were discharged after a shorter recovery period,” said lead author Dr. Nina Shapiro, an associate professor of pediatric otolaryngology at Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA. "This is especially good news for parents and children who want to go home as soon as possible after surgery.”

Patients remain in recovery after tonsillectomy so that medical staff can monitor the child after emerging from anesthesia and check for any signs of adverse reaction to general anesthesia or other unexpected problems. Patients are typically cleared for discharge once they are alert, their vital signs are stable, and they have fully woken up from the anesthesia and recovered their pre-surgical condition.



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