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What Are The Pros And Cons Of A Tonsillectomy?
Posted on
Mon, 14 Jul 2014
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Mon, 14 Jul 2014
Answered on
Mon, 4 Aug 2014
Last reviewed on
Question : What are the pros and cons of a child's tonsillectomy vs an adult's tonsillectomy?
Brief Answer:
As below:
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thank you for your query.
1. In adult patients, there are more attacks of chronic tonsillitis. The duration of illness is more.
2. Fibrosis and scarring between the tonsil and the tonsillar fossa is greater in adult patients. This leads to more trauma during dissection in adults. This leads to more post operative pain. Probably children forget the pain and tenderness more quickly.
3. Adult patients may have other diseases such as diabetes, asthma, blood pressure problems, cervical spine issues and so on. Children on the other hand, are more intolerant to blood loss during surgery.
4. The immune system relies on the input from the tonsil and other lymphoid tissue in the throat till the age of 5 years. That is one reason why very small children are not subjected to tonsillectomy as far as possible.
5. These are some of the pros and cons why a tonsillectomy in a child is less likely to involve complications than the same procedure for an adult.
I hope that I have answered your questions and if you have any more questions I will be available to answer them.
Regards.
As below:
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thank you for your query.
1. In adult patients, there are more attacks of chronic tonsillitis. The duration of illness is more.
2. Fibrosis and scarring between the tonsil and the tonsillar fossa is greater in adult patients. This leads to more trauma during dissection in adults. This leads to more post operative pain. Probably children forget the pain and tenderness more quickly.
3. Adult patients may have other diseases such as diabetes, asthma, blood pressure problems, cervical spine issues and so on. Children on the other hand, are more intolerant to blood loss during surgery.
4. The immune system relies on the input from the tonsil and other lymphoid tissue in the throat till the age of 5 years. That is one reason why very small children are not subjected to tonsillectomy as far as possible.
5. These are some of the pros and cons why a tonsillectomy in a child is less likely to involve complications than the same procedure for an adult.
I hope that I have answered your questions and if you have any more questions I will be available to answer them.
Regards.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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