Tonsillectomy Surgery | Procedure, Cost, Before and After

Tonsillectomy is a standard procedure performed on over 500,000 children every year, especially for cleft patients. It is performed on most of the cleft patients with enlarged tonsils, leading to difficult or disrupted breathing. Read on if you have a sore throat, followed by bad breath and difficulty swallowing, and suspect tonsillitis. This blog discusses tonsillectomy surgery, including how it needs surgery, the cost of a tonsillectomy surgery procedure, and before and after results.

What Is Tonsillitis?

Tonsils refer to the two oval-shaped tissue pads at the back of the throat. Viral or bacterial (Streptococcus pyogenes) infections cause inflammation of these tissues, making it difficult for cleft patients to swallow food. Some other common tonsillitis symptoms include red swollen tonsils, sore throat, fever, bad breath, stomachache, headache, and neck pain. If your young child cannot explain how they feel, look for signs such as crankiness, drooling, refusing to eat, etc.

Tonsillitis is more common in children than adults. This is because they prevent bacteria and viruses from entering the mouth, making tonsils vulnerable to inflammation and infection. The tonsil’s immune system declines as we age, making it rare among adults than children.

Tonsillitis Treatment

If tonsillitis is caused by a virus, the doctor may advise saltwater gargle and recommend warm food because it will settle on its own, and antibiotics won’t help. At-home tonsillitis treatment includes plenty of rest, lozenges, and treating fever, pain, and other symptoms.

Antibiotics are recommended when a bacterial infection causes tonsillitis. You must complete the treatment course, or the condition will worsen and spread to other body parts. It could even lead to further complications like rheumatic fever and kidney infections.

Tonsillectomy Surgery

Tonsillectomy surgery is recommended to treat frequently occurring tonsillitis, chronic tonsillitis, or bacterial tonsillitis that does not go away even after antibiotic treatment. It is also performed when inflamed tonsils make it difficult for patients to live a normal life, leading to obstructive sleep apnea, breathing difficulty, and an abscess that doesn’t improve with antibiotic treatment.

What Is Tonsillectomy Surgery Procedure?

The doctor may advise you to stop taking anti-inflammatory medications two weeks before the surgery as it may increase your risk of bleeding. They may also recommend fasting after midnight, before the surgery, as it increases your risk of anaesthesia-induced nausea.

Tonsillectomy surgery procedure is commonly performed in two different ways, cold knife dissection and cauterisation. Cold knife procedure involves removing the tonsils with a scalpel. The latter involves burning away tissues using ultrasonic vibration and takes about thirty minutes. Some surgeons may recommend a snare tonsillectomy surgery procedure where a thin wire loop, after freeing the tonsils clamp it off and reduce bleeding. Irrespective of the method chosen, it is performed under general anaesthesia.

As with any other procedure, tonsillectomy surgery isn’t risk-free. Some of the common risks include allergic reactions to anaesthesia, swelling, bleeding during surgery, infection, etc.

Tonsillectomy Surgery Before and After

After tonsillectomy surgery, patients experience better sleep, fewer infections, and improved sleep quality. Patients may experience throat pain, bad breath, and hoarseness a few days after tonsillectomy surgery. After about a week, the patient may have mild bleeding and scabbing when, eventually, the scab falls off.

The doctor may recommend soft foods, including smoothies, yoghurt, pudding, applesauce, mashed potatoes, and scrambled eggs. They may also advise you to stay away from spicy and hard foods. You must complete the medications during recovery to prevent infection.

Tonsillectomy Surgery Hospital in India

Call us to schedule a consultation if you are looking for a tonsillectomy surgery hospital in India. We’ll guide you through the procedure and ensure the best cleft lip and palate treatment in India.