Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 July 2019
A single-centre, single-blinded prospective experimental study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of autologous platelet-rich plasma applied to the tonsillar bed post-operatively in reducing post-operative pain and haemorrhage.
Platelet-rich plasma, prepared prior to surgery, was applied with calcium gluconate to one randomly chosen tonsillar fossa. Pain and haemorrhage were analysed, using a visual analogue scale and a pre-defined grading scale respectively, four times on the day of surgery at 2-hourly intervals, and thrice on the following day.
The pain score and haemorrhage grade on the test side were lower than on the control side. These findings were statistically significant.
This pilot study, conducted in India, revealed valid positive results for a promising new technology. The manual preparation of platelet-rich plasma could be automated in the future to allow a larger sample size.
Dr M N Chettri takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper
Presented at the 66th National Conference of the Association of Otorhinolaryngologists of India, 11 January 2014, Mysore, India.