The pros and cons of tonsillectomy in adults

As we all know, tonsils are an important part of the human body, and tonsillitis will have a great impact on the patient's life. Especially because the disease is prone to occur and has a high incidence, many people hope to reduce the harm of tonsils to the human body forever through surgical removal. So is it good to remove tonsils? Let's share the pros and cons of removing tonsils below.

The operation is performed under general anesthesia, and the tonsils are removed when the patient enters a deep sleep and loses the sense of pain. Most incisions do not require stitches and can heal naturally. Patients are generally hospitalized for observation for more than 24 hours after surgery. It is generally believed that tonsillectomy will not have any adverse effects on later life.

Pros and cons of surgery

Some parents ask doctors to remove their children's tonsils surgically because their children often suffer from tonsillitis, but doctors generally consider this carefully. Why can’t tonsils be removed casually?

Tonsils are the largest lymphoid tissue in the pharynx. During childhood, it is an active immune organ that contains lymphocytes at various stages of development, such as T cells, B cells, macrophages, etc. Therefore, it not only has humoral immunity, producing various immunoglobulins, but also has certain cellular immunity. The immunoglobulin IgA produced by tonsils has strong immunity, which can inhibit the adhesion of bacteria to the respiratory mucosa, inhibit the growth and spread of bacteria, and also has a neutralizing and inhibitory effect on viruses. IgA can also enhance the function of phagocytes through complement activation. These are most active between the ages of two and five.

From an immune point of view, tonsils should not be removed casually due to their immune effects on the body. Enlarged tonsils in children are a normal physiological phenomenon. If the enlargement does not affect breathing and swallowing and does not cause serious clinical manifestations, they should not be removed. Because resection may affect the local immune response and reduce the body's ability to fight infection. If tonsillitis recurs, interferes with breathing and swallowing, and causes diseases such as rheumatism and nephritis, it should be removed promptly. Generally, tonsillectomy for children should be performed after the age of four, and it is more appropriate to wait two to three weeks after the inflammation subsides. However, if the attacks are too frequent and you cannot wait too long, you may consider having surgery a few days after the attacks subside.

The tonsil is a lymphatic immune organ located at the junction of the oropharynx and the hypopharynx. It is the "first line of defense" of human immunity and plays a role in systemic immunity. In recent years, studies have shown that tonsils play an important role in human immunity, especially in children whose immune function has not yet been fully established. More and more opinions point out that tonsillectomy should be done with caution.

But at the same time, tonsils are also a part that is easily invaded by bacteria, viruses and other harmful substances. Some people's tonsils are often inflamed, thus turning from an immune organ into a lesion. Repeated acute attacks can also cause infections of the middle ear and sinuses; further down the body, it can cause bronchitis or pneumonia; it can also be complicated by peritonsillar abscesses. It may even cause diseases of other systems, such as kidneys, heart, lungs, joints, skin, blood and nervous systems. Enlarged tonsils not only cause swallowing and speech disorders and affect breathing, but can also cause snoring. Therefore, surgical removal of the tonsils can be used to treat the condition and prevent other diseases from occurring.

Whether to remove your tonsils should be determined based on your specific situation and the doctor's diagnosis, and cannot be generalized.

Generally, the candidate for tonsillectomy should have one or more of the following conditions: 1. Recurrent acute tonsillitis, 5 or 6 times a year, seriously affecting daily life; 2. History of peritonsillar abscess; 3. Other systemic complications; 4. Snoring caused by enlarged tonsils, affecting breathing, swallowing, and causing speech disorders; 5. Carriers of diphtheria bacteria.

Although tonsillectomy is considered very safe, like all surgical procedures, it does have certain risks. Because the surgery requires local or general anesthesia, the anesthesia itself may also have certain risks. Moreover, although the operation of removing tonsils and tonsils is simple and easy compared with other surgical operations, it will cause throat pain for about 14 days. Sometimes the pain is so severe that it will be unbearable for children.