Adenoid
hypertrophy (AH) is a common cause of
airway obstruction in children and its recurrence after conventional
curettage adenoidectomy is not rare. The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy of endoscopic nasopharyngeal exploration at the end of
curettage adenoidectomy on decreasing the incidence of adenoid re-
hypertrophy. Three hundred and fifty children diagnosed as having AH, underwent conventional
curettage adenoidectomy by a single surgeon. The cases were randomly divided into two equal groups A and B, group B were further subjected to nasopharyngeal exploration by the nasal
endoscope after removal of their adenoids with
cauterization of any visible residuals, while group A were not subjected to this endoscopic maneuver. Follow-up was carried out for at least 2 years; flexible nasopharyngoscopy was used for detection of recurrent AH. Cases that were not subjected to endoscopic nasopharyngeal exploration (group A) showed a high recurrence rate (6.6%), while explored cases (group B) showed a low incidence of recurrence (1.18%). Most recurrence of group A (6%) was detected within the first year of the follow-up period which may indicate re-growth of residual adenoidal tissues that were missed during conventional
curettage adenoidectomy. Endoscopic nasopharyngeal exploration at the end of conventional
curettage adenoidectomy is a useful method in decreasing the incidence of recurrent AH.