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Is day surgery tonsillectomy safe? A consecutive surgery case-series in an Australian setting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2025

Sophie Dunmall Open the ORCID record for Sophie Dunmall [Opens in a new window]  and
Eng Hooi Ooi
Sophie Dunmall*
Affiliation:
Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Flinders Medical Centre, Southern Adelaide Local Healthcare Network and College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Australia
Eng Hooi Ooi
Affiliation:
Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Flinders Medical Centre, Southern Adelaide Local Healthcare Network and College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Australia
*
Corresponding author: Sophie Dunmall; Email: sophie.dunmall@sa.gov.au
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Abstract

Objectives

To assess the outcomes of a protocol-led, same-day discharge for elective tonsillectomy patients.

Design

A retrospective case-series of all tonsillectomies performed from January 2018 to May 2023 at a tertiary hospital in Adelaide, Australia. The primary outcome was rate of readmission within 24 hours for same-day surgery compared to hospital-stay tonsillectomy patients. Secondary outcomes included post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage.

Results

During the study period, 1658 elective tonsillectomies were performed, with 664 patients (40.0 per cent) discharged the same day following tonsillectomy. The readmission rate within 24 hours was comparable between the two groups: 0.60 per cent for day surgery and 0.64 per cent for those who stayed overnight in hospital (Χ2(1, N = 1600) = 0.009, p = 0.9244). The primary post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage rate for day-surgery patients was 0.3 per cent, with a relative risk of 0.5 (Χ2(1, N = 1658) = 0.751, p = 0.3862).

Conclusion

The low readmission and primary post-tonsillectomy haemorrhage rates indicate that a protocol-led, same-day tonsillectomy is safe and feasible to implement in carefully selected patients.

Keywords

tonsillectomyambulatory surgical proceduresquality improvementsurgical blood lossotorhinolaryngologic surgical procedurespatient readmission
Type
Main Article
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , First View , pp. 1 - 7
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of J.L.O. (1984) LIMITED.

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Footnotes

Sophie Dunmall takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper Presented at ASOHNS Annual Scientific Meeting 2024 in Perth, Western Australia 9/3/2024

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