Objective: Adenoidectomy by curettage remains one of the most commonly performed otolaryngological procedures, and can lead to troublesome bleeding. This has led to the introduction of newer techniques, including radiofrequency ablation (coblation), that aim to minimise blood loss. The aim of this study is to compare blood loss in adenoidectomy performed using coblation to that found using the curette technique.

Methods: Children undergoing adenoidectomy were prospectively included in the study. Those having simultaneous tonsillectomy were excluded. Demographic details and an assessment of adenoid size were recorded. Blood loss was measured by comparing pre and post-operative weights of swabs in the curette group and the suction apparatus and saline bag in the coblation group. Results were analysed using SPSS for windows.

Results: Twenty-three children were included in the study, 13 having adenoidectomy by curette and 10 by coblation. The two groups had similar ages and average adenoid size. The curette group had a mean blood loss of 24.1 mls (range 4.5 – 52.1, SD 13.78) and the coblation group a mean blood loss of 2.6 mls (range 1.7-3.4, SD 0.57). This difference was found to be statistically significant (p<0.001). There were no post-operative complications in either group.

Conclusion: This study confirms that, when performing adenoidectomy, the coblation technique has a significantly lower blood loss than the traditional curette technique.

Keywords: Adenoidectomy, Surgical blood loss.