Safety and long-term efficacy of tonsillectomy versus subtotal tonsillectomy in children with sleep disordered breathing

Katia Averbukh; Adi Goldbart; Aviv Goldbart; Asher Tal; Daniel M Kaplan; Moshe Puterman; Sabri El-Saied; Ben-Zion Joshua

doi:10.1016/j.amjoto.2022.103494

Safety and long-term efficacy of tonsillectomy versus subtotal tonsillectomy in children with sleep disordered breathing

Am J Otolaryngol. 2022 Jul-Aug;43(4):103494. doi: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2022.103494. Epub 2022 May 10.

Authors

Katia Averbukh¹, Adi Goldbart², Aviv Goldbart³, Asher Tal³, Daniel M Kaplan⁴, Moshe Puterman⁴, Sabri El-Saied⁴, Ben-Zion Joshua⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Soroka University Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. Electronic address: katiaav87@gmail.com.
² Clinical Research Unit, Soroka University Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
³ Saban Pediatric Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
⁴ Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Soroka University Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
⁵ Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Barzilai Medical Center, Ashkelon Israel and Department of Medical Sciences Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer sheva, Israel.

PMID: 35636085
DOI: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2022.103494

Abstract

Objectives: to compare safety and long-term symptoms after TE compared to Subtotal Tonsillectomy (STT).

Methods: A retrospective review data of 412 patients, one to twelve years old that underwent either TE or STT, as treatment for sleep disorder breathing, at two different medical centers. Symptoms were assessed by a questionnaire 3-5 years post-surgery. Additionally, data regarding immediate post-operative symptoms and complications were also collected.

Results: Long-term symptoms score was significantly lower in the TE group: 1.585 (±1.719) compared to 1.967 (±1.815) in the STT group (p = 0.033); 51.3% of patients in the ST group presented long-term SDB symptoms, compared to 40.6% in the TE group (p = 0.035); The main difference between the groups was snoring as 49% of the STT group suffered from snoring, versus 28.9% in the TE group (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: TE showed an advantage over STT in resolving snoring in the long term.

Keywords: Obstructive sleep apnea; Sleep disordered breathing; Snoring; Subtotal tonsillectomy; Tonsillectomy.

MeSH terms

Adenoidectomy
Child
Child, Preschool
Humans
Infant
Retrospective Studies
Sleep Apnea Syndromes* / surgery
Snoring / surgery
Surveys and Questionnaires
Tonsillectomy* / adverse effects