CRYOTONSILLECTOMY IN DOGS.

Abstract

THIS PAPER will describe the rationale, instrument, and technique of a cryosurgicallyproduced tonsillectomy in dogs. Rationale For many years excisional tonsillectomy has proved itself to be a very successful procedure in the vast majority of instances. Its object, the removal of the diseased structures, is achieved at a very low mortality rate, and healing results in good function. Nevertheless, even its most skillful practitioners and enthusiastic supporters acknowledge that it is by no means an ideal, carefree operation. For one thing, they caution that the threat of hemorrhage is ever present. This may occur during excision, because of the difficulty of securing certain deeply-placed vessels, or in the immediate postoperative period when ligatures can slip off. Brisk bleeding can also appear even days later when the slough that forms in the tonsillar bed separates. Although these complications can usually be prevented by meticulous hemostasis during surgery or by local tamponade