Is Laser Better than Cold Steel (Dissection and Snare) for Tonsillectomy?

Objective: To analyse the surgical outcome of CO₂ laser assisted tonsillectomy with the cold steel (conventional dissection and snare) tonsillectomy. Materials and Methods: This prospective, non-randomised, single blind study was conducted in 25 cases suffering with recurrent tonsillitis. The left tonsillectomy was performed with CO₂ laser while the right tonsil was excised using cold steel method (conventional dissection and snare method). The surgical time, blood loss and post-operative pain for each method was recorded and analysed. Results: CO₂ laser tonsillectomy had highly significant less intra-operative blood loss (41.8ml vs. 78.8ml with p = 0.001) and postoperative pain levels on postoperative day 1,3, and 5 ( p value of 0.013, 0.006 and 0.000 respectively) as compared to cold steel method. However; there was no statistically significant difference in operative time between the two techniques (p > 0.05). Conclusion: CO₂ laser tonsillectomy appeared to be better technique than cold steel in terms of intra-operative haemorrhage and pain.