No matter how statistically safe a procedure has proven to be, every surgery has risks. Post Tonsillectomy Hemorrhage (PTH) is a potentially serious complication that has been reported in literature for both adult and pediatric patients. It is reported to occur following use of COBLATION devices as well as following the use of other surgical devices and methods. Before making any surgical decision, you should speak with your doctor about any potential risks.
COBLATION wands are contraindicated for use in patients with cardiac pacemakers or other electronic device implants.
*Compared to monopolar dissection, based on analysis of eight randomized clinical trials.
Harley Jr., Earl H., John T., Mike and Hanson, Beate. Coblation Dissection Versus Monopolar Dissection – A systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. 2016; Data on file with Smith & Nephew, PN 91999 Rev A.
Woloszko, Jean, and Gilbride, Charles. Coblation Technology: Plasma Mediated Ablation for Otolaryngology Applications. Proceedings of SPIE. 2000, Vol. 3907.
1. Amin N, Bhargava E, Prentice JG, Shamil E, Walsh M, Tweedie DJ. Coblation Intracapsular Tonsillectomy in Children: A Prospective Study of 1257 Consecutive Cases with Long Term Follow Up. Clin Otolaryngol. 2021;00:1 – 9.
2. Francis DO, Fonnesbeck C, Sathe N, McPheeters M, Krishnaswami S, Chinnadurai S. Postoperative Bleeding and Associated Utilization Following Tonsillectomy in Children: A Systematic Review and MetaAnalysis. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2017;156:442 – 455.
3. Varadharajan K, Caton N, Faulkner J, Khemani S. Coblation® intracapsular tonsillectomy in children with recurrent tonsillitis: Initial experience. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2020;135:110113.
4. Chau SM, Sharma GK, Ahuja GS, Huoh KC, Pham NS. Post-Operative Hemorrhage Rates in Coblation Intracapsular Tonsillectomy: A 6-year Experience. Poster presented at: Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meetings (COSM)2019; Austin, Texas.
5. Albright JT, Duncan NO, Smerica AM, Edmonds JL. Intra-capsular complete tonsillectomy, a modification of surgical technique to eliminate delayed post-operative bleeding. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2020;128:109703.
6. Woloszko J, Kwende M, Stadler K. Coblation in Otolaryngology. Proceedings of SPIE. 2003, Accessed June 8, 2018. https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/4949/0000/Coblation-in-otolaryngology/10.1117/12.488349.short?SSO=1
7. Huoh et al. Current status and future trends: pediatric intracapsular tonsillectomy in the United States 2. Hoey AW et al. Coblation Intracapsular Tonsillectomy (tonsilotomy) in children: a prospective study of 500 consecutive cases with long-term follow up 3. Partial tonsillectomy using COBLATION versus alternative tonsillectomy techniques: a systematic literature review with meta analysis 4. Amin N. et al. Coblation Intracapsular Tonsillectomy in Children: a prospective study of 1257 consecutive cases with long term follow up. Clin Otoloryngol. 2021;00:1
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