In a canine model of tonsillar wound healing, microdebrider intracapsular tonsillectomy produced significantly faster healing than electrocautery tonsillectomy in the early postoperative course. The "biologic dressing" theory of intracapsular tonsillectomy wound healing may account for observed differences in healing and suggests a mechanism for improved clinical outcomes.

With a continued desire to reduce the morbidity of tonsil surgery, otolaryngologists have begun to use powered microdebriders to perform partial intracapsular tonsillectomies. This technique has an advantage over conventional tonsillectomy of leaving a biological dressing or residual tonsillar tissue and capsule to protect the underlying musculature with its vessels and nerves. The literature has shown that partial intracapsular tonsillectomy is equally effective at relieving patient’s symptoms of obstruction when compared to conventional tonsillectomy and that it appears to reduce the complications of postoperative pain, dehydration, and bleeding. Patients are able to return to normal activity and diet faster as the healing process is accelerated. This article reviews the published data on microdebrider-assisted partial intracapsular tonsillectomy with a discussion of its advantages, potential limitations and areas of future research.

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indication to undergo adenoidectomy with the suction coagulator. With the caveat of the potential for a more painful postoperative course, the results indicate that the suction coagulator has a better postoperative profile than curettage. The pathophysiology of the pain due to use of the suction coagulator should be further researched. SIGNIFICANCE: These results indicate that, in some instances, the suction coagulator should be the method of choice rather than curettage, especially if bleeding is a prime concern.