KTP-532 LASER TONSILLECTOMY - A POTENTIAL DAY-CASE PROCEDURE

We report the results of a prospective pilot study of 54 adult patient s undergoing tonsillectomy using the KTP-532 laser, designed to assess whether the technique would facilitate day-case adult tonsillectomy. Subjective and objective assessment at six hours past-operatively show ed that only 43 per cent could, in our judgement, have been discharged at this interval. Furthermore, the overall complication rate was 31 p er cent with a secondary haemorrhage rate of 19 per cent. We conclude that KTP-532 laser tonsillectomy as performed in this pilot study comp ares unfavourably with dissection tonsillectomy and we discuss possibl e reasons for this.