The Effect of Adenotonsillectomy on The Acoustic Aspects of Children’s Voice

Background: Adenotonsillectomy is the most common surgery in pediatric otorhinolaryngology. In most cases, low complications are associated with it. In pediatric adenotonsillectomy, parents often worry about voice patterns, which may be temporary or permanent. Computerized acoustic vocal analysis has been valued for its ability to quantify vocal parameters as well as provide qualitative data. This study aimed to analyze the changes in acoustic voice parameters after tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, or adenotonsillectomy.Methods: The current study included 100 children, patients who underwent an adenotonsillectomy, tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy. The preoperative assessment included full history taking (demographic data and complaints), clinical examination and laboratory analysis. Tonsillectomy was done by cold steel dissection and Adenoidectomy by curettage. Acoustic analysis of voice included the fundamental frequency (F0), jitter percentage, shimmer percentage, and Harmonic/Noise ratio (HNR) measurements during preoperative preparation and at first day, one week and one month after the operation. Results: There was high statistically significant difference regarding the F0, jitter percentage, shimmer percentage, and HNR measurements between each duration during the follow and also as compared to the preoperative value. The Fundamental frequency was the most affected parameters and it showed changes in all types of operationsConclusions: Adenotonsillectomy is associated with significant changes at the different acoustic aspects in children and care should be taken during the follow up to provide the optimal care for the children.