Part 2

Diagnosing the need for tonsillectomy.

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Indications for tonsillectomy

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In adults, tonsillectomy is performed for a wider range of conditions, including: 

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• Recurrent tonsillitis

  • Signs of tonsillitis in adults include swollen glands, difficulty in swallowing, white pus-filled spots on your tonsils at the back of your throat, bad breath or other ‘sore throat’ symptoms

• Peritonsillar abscess (quinsy)

  • Quinsy is often triggered by tonsillitis and is typically even more painful than tonsillitis. Quinsy is an abscess on the outside of the tonsil, causing spasm of the jaw muscles, ear pain and an almost complete inability to swallow. 

• Snoring

  • Harsh sounds caused by vibrations of the soft palate during sleeping

• Sleep apnoea

  • A serious sleep disorder that occurs when a person's breathing is interrupted during sleep

• Tonsil stones

  • Soft white lumps of bacterial and cellular debris that form in the tonsillar crypt and crevices of the tonsils

• Other symptoms -  such as bad taste, bad breath, chronic fatigue syndrome, guttate psoriasis.

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In a child, tonsillectomy is performed because of obstructed breathing due to tonsils blocking the airway (sleep apnoea), and recurrent bad sore throats.

Tonsillectomy is a very effective treatment for tonsillitis, recurrent bad sore throats, snoring, tonsil stones, bad breath. Major studies such as the Scottish Tonsillectomy Audit have shown how beneficial this is to patients.