Objective: To compare the safety and efficacy of power-assisted adenoidectomy (PAA) vs adenoid curette adenoidectomy (ACA).
Design: A prospective randomized study.
Setting: Children's hospital of a tertiary care medical center.
Patients: Ninety patients (aged 1-13 years) underwent PAA, and 87 patients (aged 1-12 years) underwent ACA.
Main outcome measures: The parameters evaluated were operative time, blood loss, completeness and depth of resection, injuries to surrounding structures, short- and long-term complications, surgeon satisfaction with the procedure, and parents' assessment of the patient's postoperative recovery period.
Results: The PAA was 20% faster (P<.001) and had 27% less blood loss (P<.001) than the ACA. It provided a more complete resection(P<.001) and better control of the depth of resection (P<.05). Surgeon satisfaction was greater with PAA (P<.001). There was no difference in the recovery period or parent satisfaction. One patient in the PAA group returned to the operating room for control of postoperative bleeding, and 1 child in the ACA group returned to the hospital for postoperative dehydration.
Conclusion: The PAA provides a faster, dryer, more complete, and more surgically satisfying resection than the ACA.