Objective Evaluate intraoperative cooling of the oropharynx to reduce
postoperative pain in
tonsillectomy using monopolar
electrocautery. Methods Sixty-six patients, age 1 to 12 years, were selected for the study, 33 in the control group and 33 in the experimental group. After randomization, patients underwent subcapsular dissection and hemostasis with monopolar
electrocautery. Patients in the experimental group had the oropharynx cooled after tonsil dissection and hemostasis for 10 minutes. The procedure was done through the oral cavity by irrigation with 500 mL of
0.9% saline, in temperatures between 5°C and 10°C, for 5 minutes. The evaluation of
postoperative pain was made with the
pain visual analog scale (VAS) for 10 days. As complementary data on the evaluation of
pain, we recorded daily use of
ketoprofen for
pain relief. Results Pain after
tonsillectomy assessed by VAS was significantly lower in the experimental group at days 0, 5, and 6 (p < 0.05). There were no differences in the use of
ketoprofen between the groups. Conclusion Cooling of the oropharynx after
tonsillectomy promotes clinically significant reduction in
postoperative pain, without additional complications.