Hindawi Publishing Corporation International Journal of Otolaryngology Volume 2013, Article ID 265105, 4 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/265105 Clinical Study Comparison of Pediatric and Adult Tonsillectomies Performed by Thermal Welding System Tolga Ersözlü, 1 Yavuz Selim YJldJrJm, 2 and Selman Sarica 3 1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Elbistan State Hospital, 46300 Kahramanmaras, Turkey 2 Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Bezmialem Vakif University, Adnan Menderes Bulvarı, Vatan Caddesi Fatih, 34093 Istanbul, Turkey 3 Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Afs ¸in State Hospital, 46300 Kahramanmaras, Turkey Correspondence should be addressed to Yavuz Selim Yıldırım; dryavuzselim@yahoo.com Received 5 May 2013; Revised 7 October 2013; Accepted 7 October 2013 Academic Editor: Charles Monroe Myer Copyright © 2013 Tolga Ers¨ ozl¨ u et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Objective. To compare pediatric and adult age groups in terms of postoperative bleeding and pain following tonsillectomy performed by thermal welding system (TWS). Method. Te study consisted of 213 patients, of whom 178 were children and 35 were adults. Te mean age of the pediatric patients (81 girls and 97 females) was 6.7 ± 2.4 years (range 3–13 years) and the mean age of the adults (20 males and 15 females) was 21.8 ± 7.07 years (range 15–41 years). All of the patients were evaluated in terms of postoperative bleeding and pain following tonsillectomy performed by TWS. Results. Bleeding was detected in the late postoperative period in 11 pediatric and 7 adult patients and of them 2 pediatric and 3 adult patients controlled under general. Postoperative bleeding was signifcantly less prevalent in the pediatric age group compared to the adult age group ( = 0.04). Likewise, postoperative pain was signifcantly less prevalent in the pediatric age group as compared to the adult age group ( < 0.001). Conclusion. Both postoperative bleeding and pain following tonsillectomy performed by TWS were more prevalent in the adult age group compared to the pediatric age group. 1. Introduction Tonsillectomy is the most common surgical procedure per- formed in the ear, nose, and throat practice. It is most frequently performed via cold dissection both in the pediatric and adult age group worldwide. Many hot dissection methods have been defned as an alternative to the cold dissection. Hot dissection methods include bipolar and/or monopolar electrocautery, radiofrequency, harmonic scalpel, coblator, and thermal welding system (TWS) [1]. Previous studies have reported and compared the outcomes of radiofrequency, TWS, cold knife, or monopolar electrocautery in terms of posttonsillectomy bleeding and pain [2]. Termal welding is the technique that simultaneously uses heat and pressure to provide coagulation. In a study conducted on adults, ton- sillectomies performed by TWS and bipolar electrocautery were compared in terms of intraoperative bleeding, operation duration, postoperative pain, time to regain normal diet, and postoperative bleeding [3, 4]. Multiparametric studies comparing a few methods have been conducted also in the pediatric age group [5]. However, studies comparing adult and pediatric patients in terms of postoperative bleeding and pain following tonsillectomy performed by TWS are limited. Te aim of the present study was to investigate and compare the postoperative bleeding and pain following tonsillectomy performed by TWS in the pediatric and adult patients. 2. Materials and Method Te present prospective study included 213 pediatric and adult patients that underwent only tonsillectomy and/or adenotonsillectomy under general anesthesia by thermal welding device in Elbistan State Hospital Ear-Nose-Troat clinic between February 2008 and June 2012. Of the patients, 178 were children aged between 3 and 13 years and 35 were adults aged between 15 and 41 years. Te indications for tonsillectomy were recurrent tonsillitis and/or tonsillar