We compared the results of tonsillectomy performed by classical dissection and bipolar cautery dissection in pediatric patients.A total of 201 pediatric patients were randomly assigned to two tonsillectomy groups. Ninety-five patients (62 boys, 33 girls; mean age 7+/-3 years) underwent bipolar cautery tonsillectomy, and 106 patients (58 boys, 48 girls; mean age 8+/-3 years) underwent classical dissection tonsillectomy. Patients were compared with respect to bleeding during tonsillectomy, operation time, tonsil volumes, primary and secondary bleeding, severity of pain at the first hour and on the tenth day, and time to first solid food intake.With bipolar cautery tonsillectomy, the mean operation time, amount of perioperative bleeding, and pain score at the first hour were significantly lower (p0.05). In the late postoperative period, one patient in each group required intervention under general anesthesia to control bleeding.Merits and demerits of both techniques should be taken into consideration for appropriate patient selection for the two tonsillectomy methods.