Suffered With Mono, Had Swollen Tonsils. Is Tonsillectomy Required At This Stage?

Posted on Mon, 10 Jun 2013

Question: My 24 year old son has had mono for 10 days. His tonsils are very swollen. Should he have a tonsillectomy
or wait for the mono to clear up?

Answered by Dr. Sumit Bhatti (32 minutes later)

Hi,

Thank you for your query.

1. Infectious Mononucleosis is a self limiting disease.

2. Acute tonsillectomy is not required unless there is very severe infection or there is severe respiratory obstruction.

3. Tonsillectomy during acute inflammation often leads to excessive bleeding during surgery, more complications and delayed healing. It may be planned as an elective procedure later if he has recurrent attacks of tonsillitis.

I hope that I have answered your queries. If you have any further questions, I will be available to answer them.

Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Sumit Bhatti (6 minutes later)

What are signs of a severe obstruction?

Answered by Dr. Sumit Bhatti (5 hours later)

Hi,

Thank you for writing back.

1. Severe difficulty while swallowing, drooling of saliva, change in voice and breathlessness would be signs of severe obstruction.

2. On examination, the tonsils may be so enlarged that thy may appear to touch each other in the midline.

I hope that I have answered your queries. If you have any further questions, I will be available to answer them.

Regards.

Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar