Tonsillectomy at age 50

Tonsils are a relatively important part of the human body and are often infected with various diseases due to various reasons. If the tonsil disease is more serious, then tonsillectomy surgery is required for treatment. However, not all cases require tonsillectomy, and not everyone is suitable for tonsillectomy. Below, we will introduce in detail the indications, contraindications and precautions of tonsillectomy.

1. Indications

1. Tonsillectomy may be performed for diseases of the tonsils themselves, such as recurrent acute tonsillitis, peritonsillar abscess, or obstruction of the upper respiratory tract caused by hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the tonsils in young children, or even dyspnea and difficulty swallowing. Other conditions such as tonsillar keratosis and tonsillar tumors can also be treated with this surgical method. For patients with chronic pharyngitis, tonsillectomy does not improve their symptoms.

2. Tonsillectomy can be performed for diseases of adjacent organs caused by chronic tonsillitis, such as recurrent acute rhinitis, pharyngitis, otitis media, cervical lymphadenitis, etc. related to the tonsils.

3. Patients with chronic tonsillitis as the lesion that causes other organ diseases in the body, such as rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease, arthritis and nephritis, can consider tonsillectomy.

2. Contraindications

If the following situations occur, surgery should be carefully considered or postponed:

1. The active period of systemic diseases, such as tuberculosis, diabetes, blood diseases, mental illnesses, and the epidemic period of acute infectious diseases.

2. Surgery is not recommended during an acute tonsillitis attack. It can usually be performed 3 to 4 weeks after the attack.

3. Patients with hypertension and arteriosclerosis should not undergo surgery if their systolic blood pressure exceeds 20~21.3kPa to avoid bleeding.

4. Those who are weak, thin, old or suffering from serious illness; surgery is not recommended for children under 5 years old.

5. Patients whose conditions such as rheumatic fever, rheumatic heart disease, arthritis and nephritis are not yet stable should not undergo surgery. Women should postpone surgery during menstruation because there is a greater chance of bleeding during surgery.

3. Notes

1. The most common complication after tonsillectomy is bleeding, which is often caused by removing too little (leaving residue) or too much (damaging surrounding tissue). Therefore, the operation needs to be meticulous and the peeling should be performed along the outside of the capsule.

2. Before tightening the snare, avoid slipping of the forceps to prevent the tonsils from falling into the trachea.