Post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage rates: Are they technique-dependent?

One thousand one hundred thirty-three consecutive cases were analyzed. The primary post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage rate was 0.2% for blunt dissection plus diathermy hemostasis and 0.3% for monopolar diathermy dissection plus hemostasis. Monopolar diathermy had a lower rate of secondary postoperative hemorrhage, requiring readmission (4.2% compared with 5.4% for blunt dissection plus diathermy hemostasis) and a lower rate for readmission for observation alone (2.1% compared with 4.2%) but had a higher risk of returning to surgery (1.6% compared with 1.04%) and a higher risk of blood transfusion (0.49% compared with 0.2%). These differences, however, did not reach statistical significance (Yates χ2), and neither did the relative risk between the two techniques. Two-way analysis of variance among secondary post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage complications by technique and by age groups shows a highly statistically significant difference by age group (analysis of variance, 3 df, F = 9.509, P < 0.001), much more so than technique.