Innovative tonsillectomy means less pain, faster recovery for your patients.Tonsillectomy remains one of the most common childhood surgeries. Approximately 600,000 people, mostly young people, have their tonsils removed each year. Yet over the last 30 years, there has been little technological advancement in tonsillectomy procedures. However, with the growing application of the new coblation technology for tonsil removal, millions of children and adults worldwide will benefit from this innovative approach. This is because coblation-assisted tonsillectomy is a gentler procedure for removing tonsils and offers a fast and easy recovery. Dr. William Porter was the first ear, nose and throat specialist in the Fargo-Moorhead area to perform this new surgery. What is coblation technology?Coblation is a controlled, non-heat-driven process where radiofrequency energy is applied to a conductive medium, which causes a precisely focused plasma field to form around the electrodes. This field is comprised of highly ionized particles. Since radiofrequency current does not pass directly through tissue during the coblation process, tissue heating is minimal. Most of the heat is consumed by the ionization process. These ions then bombard tissue in their path, causing molecular bonds to simply break apart and tissue to dissolve at a relatively low temperature, typically 40 degrees to 70 degrees Celsius. The surgical advantages of coblation-assisted tonsillectomy.Traditionally, tonsils and adenoids were removed by cutting or burning, which can cause extensive pain and damage to surrounding healthy tissue. This is because lasers, electrosurgical devices and most other radiofrequency-based surgical tools use imprecise, heat-driven processes to remove or cut tissue. Coblation-based surgical devices operate at a lower temperature and are much less traumatic than traditional surgical tools. As opposed to exploding tissue structures under high temperatures, coblation devices gently dissolve the targeted tissue, thus leaving the healthy tissue surrounding the tonsils unaffected. How coblation technology can benefit your patients.Coblation technology has been proven effective in over 400,000 ear, nose and throat procedures worldwide. Coblation-assisted tonsillectomy can significantly improve your patients’ postoperative experience. Studies published in peer-reviewed journals have shown coblation-assisted tonsillectomy to have the following patient benefits over conventional tonsillectomy surgery:
Dr. Porter performs coblation-assisted tonsillectomy at Northern Plains Surgery Center on an outpatient basis. The risks, goals, benefits and expectations are first thoroughly discussed, and the patient’s questions are answered. The procedure itself takes less than 30 minutes and is performed with general anesthesia. Most patients can go home two or three hours after surgery. Since there is little pain and usually less than one teaspoon of blood loss during the procedure, patients resume normal activities much sooner compared to those undergoing conventional tonsillectomy. Setting the Valley’s standard for patient-focused care.Dr. Porter is a board-certified ear, nose and throat surgeon with over 20 years of experience. In addition to being the first physician in Fargo-Moorhead to employ coblation-assisted tonsillectomy, Dr. Porter was the first area physician to perform the Pearson’s Procedure, or a “near-total laryngectomy,” for larynx cancer. Additionally, Dr. Porter has extensive experience with pediatric endoscopic sinus surgery. |