Bipolar scissors tonsillectomy: what are the advantages?

Background: Various methods have been described for tonsillectomy. Convincing evidence in the literature is still lacking regarding the optimal method of performing this surgical procedure.

Aim: To investigate the outcome of bipolar scissors tonsillectomy and compare it to bipolar diathermy forceps tonsillectomy.

Methods: A prospective study of 91 patients was done at Cairo University Hospital. The right tonsils were removed in all patients using the bipolar scissors technique (group A), and the left tonsils were removed with bipolar forceps (group B). Operative time, operative blood loss, and postoperative hemorrhage were the defined parameters used to compare the outcome of both techniques.

Results: The mean operative time for group A was 14.68 ± 6.78 minutes, whereas in group B, it was 14.66 ± 5.53 minutes. This difference was found to be statistically nonsignificant (p  =  .987). In group A, the mean intraoperative blood loss was 27.55 ± 17.89 mL, whereas in group B, the mean blood loss was 29.98 ± 16.9 mL. This difference was not found to be statistically significant (p  =  .509). The overall postoperative bleeding, either primary or secondary, from the first group was 3.3% (three cases), whereas it was 2.2% (two cases) from the second group.

Conclusion: Bipolar scissors tonsillectomy is considered an easy, safe, and effective procedure. Although bipolar diathermy forceps tonsillectomy needs equipment that is less expensive, its outcome is comparable to that of bilateral scissors tonsillectomy.