Tonsils are defense organs that are located bilaterally in the mouth and function locally. Their function is to produce local defense cells that target oral microbes. While performing these functions, they grow larger than normal and if they are infected frequently, they begin to harm the body instead of defense. Especially if these infections progress too far, they can infect various places such as kidneys, heart, joints and cause more severe and irreversible damage. Removing the tonsils is the best treatment for chronic infections that have reached this state.
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Generally, we do not want to do this surgery before the age of 4, except for some special cases. If there are large tonsils that cause respiratory arrest during sleep and completely close the throat entrance, and tonsils that cause infection at least 5-6 times a year, we perform this surgery before the age of 4 years.
The operation is performed under general anesthesia and takes about 20 minutes. Sedative syrup is administered before the child is taken into the operating room. Afterwards, anesthesia is administered, followed by the surgical operation.
The surgery is performed through the mouth and no stitches are used.
The most widely preferred method for tonsil surgery in recent years is surgeries performed with thermal welding.
It is a method that has been used frequently in recent years and is performed with a tool with special tips that allows the tonsils to be removed without bleeding and without burning during the operation. The most important advantages of this method are that it causes very little pain, no bleeding and requires no stitches.
After the surgery, hospital stay is about 5 hours. In operations performed in the morning, the patient is discharged in the afternoon. The patient can go back to their normal life the day after their operation.
Feeding can start 2 hours after the operation. Foods of soft consistency are given. Puree, warm soup, vegetable dishes, fruit puree, custard and ice cream are preferred. For 1 week, attention should be paid to consume soft foods.
Postoperative bleeding is almost negligible, especially in operations performed with thermal welding.
There is no evidence that removing the tonsils weakens the body's defenses. Lonphoids, which act as a defense in the throat and upper respiratory tract, undertake this task.
When Should Tonsils be Removed?
