Historically, adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy are the most frequent surgical procedures done by otorhinolaryngologists, and more often in the pediatric population. The most frequent and most serious complication related to these procedures is the hemorrhage in the post-operatory period. STUDY DESIGN: Clinical prospective. AIM: To evaluate the occurrence of the most common surgical complication of the procedure: post-operatory hemorrhage, contributing to the handling of this potentially fatal complication. METHOD: We prospectively analyzed all children submitted to adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy at the Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology Discipline of the Federal University of São Paulo from March 2001 to March 2002. RESULTS: 359 cases of adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy were included in this study. Post-operatory hemorrhage was observed in 3 cases of combined adenotonsilectomy, all of them in the first 24 hours after the surgical procedure. CONCLUSION: We observed that 3 cases of post-operatory hemorrhage have occurred, representing an incidence of 0,8%.
adenoidectomy; tonsillectomy; post-operatory hemorrhage; post-operatory complications
