Tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies performed over a sixty-year period, 1939-1998, at the Department of Otolaryngology at Subotica Municipal Hospital

Introduction This paper presents available epidemiological data on number and types of surgeries of Waldeyer’s ring over a sixty-year period, as well as their interactions. Results Out of 80.477 patients operated on in the period from December 1, 1939 to Dec 31, 1998, statistical survey included 56.564 patients (Table 1). 26.808 (46.57%) patients were operated in local anesthesia, 23.833 (41.40%) under ether narcosis, and 6.923 (12.026%) patients were operated on under general endotracheal anesthesia. 38.846 (67.48%) tonsillectomies, 12.864 (22.34%) tonsilloadenoidectomies and 5.854 (10.16%) adenoidectomies were performed. Discussion The percentage of these surgeries is very high, but in the past ten years it has fallen below 50%. General endotracheal anesthesia is being used at the Department since 1966, and ether anesthesia is not being used since 1991. We believe that the number of tonsillectomies is high, because it also includes surgeries performed under local anesthesia, in patients over ten years of age. However, we can conclude that anesthesiological procedures effectively followed trends of medical science.