Tonsillectomy

Tonsillectomy
Intervention
Cryptic tonsils immediately following surgical removal (bilateral tonsillectomy).
ICD-9-CM	28.2-28.3
MeSH	D014068
MedlinePlus	003013
[]

Tonsillectomy is a surgical procedure in which each tonsil is removed from a recess in the side of the pharynx called the tonsillar fossa. The procedure is performed in response to repeated occurrence of acute tonsillitis, sleep surgery for obstructive sleep apnea, nasal airway obstruction, diphtheria carrier state, snoring, or peritonsillar abscess. For children, the adenoids (also known as a pharyngeal tonsil or nasopharyngeal tonsil) are usually removed, a procedure called adenoidectomy (or tonsilloadenoidectomy or adenotonsillectomy when combined). Adenoidectomy is uncommon in adults in whom the adenoids are usually vestigial. Although tonsillectomy is performed less frequently than in the 1950s, it remains one of the most common surgical procedures in children in the United States.

Tonsillectomy may be indicated when the patient experiences recurrent infections of acute tonsillitis. As the size of tonsils reaches its maximum at 3 years of age and then regresses gradually, tonsillectomy is usually delayed unless the frequency of infection necessitates it absolutely. The number prompting tonsillectomy varies with the severity of the episodes. One case, even severe, is generally not enough for most surgeons to decide tonsillectomy is necessary. Paradise in 1983 defined recurrent tonsillitis warranting surgery by the attack frequency standard as

"Seven or more in a year, five or more per year for two years, or three or more per year for three years. These are the absolute indications for tonsillectomy."

According to the 2012 guidelines of the American Academy of Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), tonsillectomy is indicated as follows: