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Pain following tonsillectomy is a constant and discouraging feature of the convalescence period. Until recently reliance was placed entirely upon the use of the opiates and salicylates and the ability of the patient to withstand this necessary evil. Not only is pain incapacitating, but it also directly prevents adequate hydration after a period of complete absence of fluids prior to the operation.
Recently this problem was brought to my attention in such a way that I felt I must find some solution more acceptable to the patient than the relief obtained through the use of drugs. A patient that I had tonsillectomized failed to obtain relief of pain through the use of the drugs I prescribed and was advised by his wife to seek advice from the physician who removed her tonsils. This physician employs an acetylsalicylic acid powder which he applies to the fossa and which does relieve pain