New method for removal of tonsils with less pain,fewer hospital days

Coblation (short for controlled ablation) is a method used by Ear Nose Throat surgeons,to perform tonsillectomy,adenoidectomy (for impaired breathing),and other surgical procedures,including treatment of snoring and oral lesions.

Unlike traditional electrocautery methods,coblation methods use radiofrequency (RF) energy in a precise and controlled manner to remove affected tissues while causing very little harm to healthy tissue.

“It is performed by disposable surgical wands by forming an ionized focused plasma field which has enough energy to cause molecular disintegration on the applied tissue without the heat of the process being transmitted to the surrounding tissue. The plasma field is generated by the bipolar radiofrequency current as it acts on the saline which flows through the surgical wand and is the key to the coblation effect,” said Dr Jervis.

One of the advantages of coblation technique is that there is less thermal or heat damage to the surrounding healthy tissue as the temperature is around 40 to 70°C which further results in less pain. Also the bleeding is less as it has focused coagulation. The wand can also be used in patients with disc prolapses where surgery is not an option.

“A disc normally has a central part which is called nucleus and outer part annulus. The nucleus tends to come out and many interpreted as slip disc. Coblation wand is entered into the nucleus which mechanically deflates the disc by controlled temperature. This indirectly reduces the swelling of disc which in turn pressures the disc of the nerve coming out of the spine,” said Dr Ram Chaddha,spine surgeon at Lilavati Hospital. Dr Chaddha will soon start using the coblation technique in Mumbai.