Post-tonsillectomy pain: the first ten days.

Forty-one adults were entered into a prospective study to investigate the pattern of pain over 10 days after elective dissection tonsillectomy. The severity of pain was scored by the patient on a visual analogue scale. The results confirm that tonsillectomy is a very painful experience and the provision of adequate analgesia is of paramount importance, especially if day-case tonsillectomy is performed.