The clinical outcome after tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy can help determine the effectiveness of the surgery. The following are the outcomes monitored by the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.
Post-operative (2-4 weeks)
(1) bleeding
(2) infection
(3) dehydration
Functional changes:
(1) change in voice
(2) change in breathing
(3) change in swallowing
Late (1 year):
(1) number of throat infections
(2) number of ear infections
The post-operative factors can be quantitated using a 5-point Likert scale:
(1) none
(2) minor
(3) moderate
(4) severe
(5) life-threatening
One way to quantitate the functional changes and one year infection rate is to grade each:
(1) not applicable (NA)
(2) much better (or fewer)
(3) better
(4) unchanged
(5) worse (or more)
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