THE EFFECT OF THE TONSILLECTOMY ON THE MOUTH OPENING

Materials and Methods: A total of 18 patients undergoing tonsillectomy and 10 patients undergoing septoplasty (control group) were included in this cohort double-blind study. For pre-operative assessment, a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction questionnaire and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for the assesment of the pain existing by the jaw movement in the TMJ region were used. The maximum interincisal distance (MID) was measured pre-operatively for each patient. Patients were seen at 1, 4 and 8 weeks post-operatively. The MID and the pain on the TMJ experienced during jaw movement (by using VAS scale) were measured.

Results: There was no statistically significant reduction of MID and VAS scores in those patients undergoing septoplasty. There was a statistically significant reduction in MID in the post-tonsillectomy patients comparing with the preoperative values. Even there was a statistically significant difference at 1 and 4 weeks there was no statistically significant difference at 8 weeks in VAS scores comparing with the preoperative values.

Conclusion: The negative effect of tonsillectomy on mouth opening was seen after 8 weeks follow-up, so in the future a new study with more objective measurement criteria could be designed and more meaningful conclusions could be reached to minimize the traumatic effect of the operation. Keywords : Tonsillectomy, temporomandibular joint, mouth opening