- FRIDAY, Aug. 22 (HealthDay News) — Patients who smoke are more
likely to develop bleeding after throat surgery, a U.S. study finds.

This increased risk was noted in patients who had
uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) — a procedure in which excess tissue is
removed from the throat — with tonsillectomy, but not in patients who had
tonsillectomy alone.

The study authors analyzed post-operative bleeding rates among more
than 1,000 tonsillectomy patients between 2000 and 2005. The overall rate
of bleeding was 6.7 percent, but that number was 10.2 percent for smokers
and 5.4 percent for nonsmokers.

The large difference between the two groups was due to the high rate of
post-operative bleeding among smokers who underwent UPPP — 10.9 percent
vs. 3.3 percent in nonsmokers.

“Futher investigation of this relationship is needed, with
stratification of patients by the number of cigarettes smoked and
attention to the length of time before and/or after surgery that patients
refrain from smoking,” the study authors wrote.

Understanding the link between smoking and post-operative bleeding may
help doctors better counsel patients before surgery, the researchers
said.

The study also found that men who had tonsillectomy alone were much
more likely than women to have post-operative bleeding — 11.2 percent vs.
5.4 percent.

The findings were published in the August issue of the journal
Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery.

More information

The American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery has
more about tonsillectomy procedures.