Reducing post-tonsillectomy pain with cryoanalgesia: a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: To evaluate the use of cryoanalgesia in reducing post-tonsillectomy pain. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective, randomized double-blind study of 59 consecutive patients (age range, 8-40 y) undergoing tonsillectomy for recurrent tonsillitis. METHODS: All patients underwent bipolar tonsillectomy. At the completion of the tonsillectomy patients were randomly assigned to a control or a cryotherapy group. The cryotherapy patients had both their tonsillar fossa "supercooled" to between -20 degrees C and -32 degrees C for 1 minute. Patients recorded their pain using a visual analogue scale over the next 10 days. Patients were also monitored for postoperative complications, time until resumption of a normal diet, time back to work or school, and analgesic consumption. RESULTS: The two groups were similar for age and sex. There was a 28.3% reduction in mean pain scores over the 10 days in the cryotherapy compared to the control group. This difference did not significantly depend on the day after operation or time of the day. Cryotherapy patients also returned to work or school, on average, 4 days earlier than controls. There was no significant difference in postoperative complications between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Cryotherapy is a new technique that significantly reduces post-tonsillectomy pain without evidence of causing additional complications.