Tonsillitis
Tonsillitis is when the tonsils show signs of inflammation, are tender and the person has difficulty swallowing or breathing. Most of the time, tonsillitis is caused by an infection with a common virus but is can also be caused by bacterial infections. If your tonsillitis becomes serious enough or you have it enough times, you may end up having a surgery called a tonsillectomy.
A tonsillectomy is a surgery that removes a person 's tonsils. There is however a minimum requirement a person must meet in order to to have a tonsillectomy. A person must have repeated incidents of infections, with the use of antibiotics or have the tonsils swell to the point that they obstruct the airway so that the person cannot swallow or breath. As of now a person must have these kind of episodes of infection at lease seven in one year or at least five of each in two years or three of each in three years. (Slowik, 2012). The idea behind limiting the amount of surgeries was to only have the most severely affected because surgery always carries complications such as infections or heavy bleeding.
More than half a million tonsillectomies are done each year on children, which makes it the second most common surgery in the age group, just behind putting tubes in their ears to prevent reoccurring ear infections.
References: Fact sheet: Tonsillitis. American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/tonsillitis.cfm. Accessed April 23, 2012. Kliegman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 19th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2011. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208746819-6/0/1608/0.html. Accessed April 23, 2012. Slowik, Guy MD FRCS Surgery for Tonsils. Tonsillectomy. August, 16th 2012
A tonsillectomy is a surgery that removes a person 's tonsils. There is however a minimum requirement a person must meet in order to to have a tonsillectomy. A person must have repeated incidents of infections, with the use of antibiotics or have the tonsils swell to the point that they obstruct the airway so that the person cannot swallow or breath. As of now a person must have these kind of episodes of infection at lease seven in one year or at least five of each in two years or three of each in three years. (Slowik, 2012). The idea behind limiting the amount of surgeries was to only have the most severely affected because surgery always carries complications such as infections or heavy bleeding.
More than half a million tonsillectomies are done each year on children, which makes it the second most common surgery in the age group, just behind putting tubes in their ears to prevent reoccurring ear infections.
References: Fact sheet: Tonsillitis. American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/tonsillitis.cfm. Accessed April 23, 2012. Kliegman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 19th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2011. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208746819-6/0/1608/0.html. Accessed April 23, 2012. Slowik, Guy MD FRCS Surgery for Tonsils. Tonsillectomy. August, 16th 2012
References: Fact sheet: Tonsillitis. American Academy of Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/tonsillitis.cfm. Accessed April 23, 2012. Kliegman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 19th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2011. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208746819-6/0/1608/0.html. Accessed April 23, 2012. Slowik, Guy MD FRCS Surgery for Tonsils. Tonsillectomy. August, 16th 2012 http://ehealthmd.com/content/surgery-tonsils-tonsillectomy