Pediatric lingual tonsillectomy

Abstract

Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy are an effective surgical treatment of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea; however, up to 20% of these patients can have persistent disease. In this select patient population, the lingual tonsil may be an occult source of obstruction. Lingual tonsillectomy can be a challenging procedure due to poor access and visualization, airway edema, postoperative pain and hemostasis during tissue removal. In this chapter, we describe our preferred technique for lingual tonsillectomy including surgical pearls for success.