Postoperative complications following tonsil and adenoid removal in Kuwaiti children: A retrospective study

BACKGROUND: Adenoidectomy and adenotonsillectomy are two of the most common procedures that are performed by otolaryngologists around the world. Complications, ranging from major to minor ones, are affected by the preoperative symptoms and health status of the patient. We aimed to identify the prevalence of major postadenoidectomy and adenotonsillectomy complications, including bleeding, and minor complications, including malodor, fever, and snoring. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 825 patients who underwent surgery between January 2002 and 30 December 2016 at our institution. RESULTS: The bleeding complications prevalence was 4.1% (14/344) among patients with adenotonsillectomy and 1.3% (6/480) among those who underwent adenoidectomy. Results revealed that tonsil grade 3 patients were at a reduced risk (86% reduced risk) of developing bleeding complications, compared to those with tonsil grade 2 [odds ratio (OR) = 0.141, 95% confidence interval (CI): (0.028, 0.715)]. Grade C tympanogram patients had ten times the odds of bleeding complications compared to those with tympanogram grade A [OR = 10.6, 95% CI: 0.917, 122.54], a marginally significant difference (probability value (PV) = 0.054). Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) patients had three times the odds of bleeding complications compared to those without URTIs [OR = 3.03, 95% CI: (0.979, 9.439)], also a marginally significant difference (PV = 0.055). Postoperatively, 71% experienced no malodor, 23% had malodor lasting 3–7 days, and 1% had malodor for 7–10 days. Our analysis showed that 71% of the patients did not complain of snoring, 25% had snoring for 3–7 days, and 2% had snoring for 7–10 days. 80% of the patients did not develop fever, 13% had fever for 3–7 days, and no patients experienced fever for longer than 7 days. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly 4% of the patients developed bleeding after adenotonsillectomy and only 2% of the patients had only bleeding after adenoidectomy. Conversely, 15–25% of the patients developed minor complications, including malodor, snoring, and fever, independent of their preoperative symptoms.