Key points: 1. Tonsillectomy is associated with risks, including primary and secondary haemorrhage, frequently requiring readmissions and methods that minimise these risks should be advocated. 2. The current analysis includes a data set of 953 children who underwent tonsillectomy using cold-steel dissection technique   3.  Nine patients (1%) were readmitted, one for infection and 8 (0.8%) for haemorrhage. One (0.1%) patient suffered primary haemorrhage and required conservative management only. 4. The commonest indication for surgery was recurrent acute tonsillitis and all the patients with post tonsillectomy haemorrhage were from this group. Obesity and obstructive sleep apnoea did not adversely affect outcome. 5. None of the patients in this study population needed reoperation to control bleeding. Cold steel dissection tonsillectomy, combined with a strict protocol produced very few complications in these series.