Health: Tonsils To Go

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Tonsillectomies are not quite so routine these days, but they are still performed more than 400,000 times a year. And they still hurt, even though the standard surgical technique, electrocautery, is a big improvement over the scalpel. But a new study argues for an even kinder and gentler tool: the microdissection needle. Because it uses less energy and causes less pain, the needle moves kids swiftly to the ice cream recovery stage.