General practitioner consultations after a paediatric tonsillectomy

General Practitioner (GP) consultations were audited in paediatric patients who have undergone an elective tonsillectomy on our unit over a 6 month period. As there is no formal follow-up, it is the department's practice to discuss with the patients the problems to expect following the operation. This is reinforced with a tonsillectomy advice sheet. An initial audit of GP consultations was performed by a telephone survey of the relevant GP. This revealed an attendance rate of 41%. Following the implementation of a change in management (chewing gum was added to the post operative care instructions) a subsequent audit of 91 children was performed. A marked reduction in the GP attendance was observed. We now routinely recommend the use of chewing gum in the post-operative period after tonsillectomy to our patients.