“Is general anesthesia for tonsil surgery safe?”
I will have tonsil surgery under general anesthesia. Is general anesthesia for tonsil surgery safe?
5 Answers
I have a Tonsil Surgery when I was 26 yrs old my ENT Doctor He used local Anesthetic that was I remember and the Surgery was excellent .
The anesthetic is the least of the risks associated with tonsillectomy, but yes, there are rare cases of adverse reaction, even death, from general anesthesia. Following are a few reasons I do not generally recommend tonsillectomy and perform very few:
1. Tonsillectomy has little (almost no) SCIENTIFIC BASIS. It is a social custom, or ritual, more than anything else.
2. Tonsils are composed of lymphoid tissue, which is tissue that fights infection.
3. The oral cavity is the most common way infection enters the human body. The tonsils act as a filter.
4. Each person has two sets of tonsils, the faucial (also called palatine) tonsils, and the lingual tonsils. You can't see the lingual tonsils because they are imbedded in the base of your tongue, just above the epiglottis. When the faucial tonsils are removed, the lingual tonsils
always enlarge. If you are obese and/or you have a small oropharynx already, enlargement of the lingual tonsils can make sleep apnea worse. And yes, you can still get throat infections (including lingual
tonsillitis) after a faucial tonsillectomy.
5. You have a strip of lymphoid tissue called the pharyngeal lateral bands, located along either side of the back of your throat (in the pharyngeal "gutters") that are only visible when you have an infection. They extend all the way to the back of your nose. They are also part of
the ring of lymphoid tissue that guards the entrance to your body, and they enlarge when the faucial tonsils are removed. "Why do these other areas of lymphoid tissue enlarge?," you may ask. It's because your body NEEDS lymphatic tissue at the entrance to your body!
6. The estimates from studies are that there are 7 deaths for every 100,000 tonsillectomies. Miss Brazil, a 25-year-old otherwise healthy (and gorgeous) woman, recently died a few days after having a tonsillectomy. The mechanism of death usually involves post-op bleeding, which can occur anytime in the first 10-12 days after the procedure. Have you ever heard of anyone dying from NOT having a tonsillectomy?
7. It is a very painful procedure for most patients. ENT docs at conventions often comment that if tonsillectomy doesn't accomplish anything else, it does teach the patient what a REAL sore throat is!
8. Tonsillitis does not originate in the tonsils. They swell and hurt because they are fighting an upper respiratory infection. If your finger gets infected, it swells and hurts too, but nobody says, "Hey, let's chopit off!" That's about how much sense tonsillectomy makes.
9. The vast majority of tonsillitis (95%) is viral. That means it doesn't respond to antibiotics, but it does resolve with time.
10. If you're having tonsillectomy because you've had a peri-tonsillar abscess (PTA), studies show that most patients who have a PTA and don't have tonsillectomy never get another PTA.
11. The GREAT majority of tonsillitis occurs in childhood, teens, and early 20's, when people are leading active social lives and encountering multiple sources of infection.
12. These are just some of the reasons that insurance companies are reluctant to approve their insureds for tonsillectomy.
My advice is to forget it and go on with your life.
1. Tonsillectomy has little (almost no) SCIENTIFIC BASIS. It is a social custom, or ritual, more than anything else.
2. Tonsils are composed of lymphoid tissue, which is tissue that fights infection.
3. The oral cavity is the most common way infection enters the human body. The tonsils act as a filter.
4. Each person has two sets of tonsils, the faucial (also called palatine) tonsils, and the lingual tonsils. You can't see the lingual tonsils because they are imbedded in the base of your tongue, just above the epiglottis. When the faucial tonsils are removed, the lingual tonsils
always enlarge. If you are obese and/or you have a small oropharynx already, enlargement of the lingual tonsils can make sleep apnea worse. And yes, you can still get throat infections (including lingual
tonsillitis) after a faucial tonsillectomy.
5. You have a strip of lymphoid tissue called the pharyngeal lateral bands, located along either side of the back of your throat (in the pharyngeal "gutters") that are only visible when you have an infection. They extend all the way to the back of your nose. They are also part of
the ring of lymphoid tissue that guards the entrance to your body, and they enlarge when the faucial tonsils are removed. "Why do these other areas of lymphoid tissue enlarge?," you may ask. It's because your body NEEDS lymphatic tissue at the entrance to your body!
6. The estimates from studies are that there are 7 deaths for every 100,000 tonsillectomies. Miss Brazil, a 25-year-old otherwise healthy (and gorgeous) woman, recently died a few days after having a tonsillectomy. The mechanism of death usually involves post-op bleeding, which can occur anytime in the first 10-12 days after the procedure. Have you ever heard of anyone dying from NOT having a tonsillectomy?
7. It is a very painful procedure for most patients. ENT docs at conventions often comment that if tonsillectomy doesn't accomplish anything else, it does teach the patient what a REAL sore throat is!
8. Tonsillitis does not originate in the tonsils. They swell and hurt because they are fighting an upper respiratory infection. If your finger gets infected, it swells and hurts too, but nobody says, "Hey, let's chopit off!" That's about how much sense tonsillectomy makes.
9. The vast majority of tonsillitis (95%) is viral. That means it doesn't respond to antibiotics, but it does resolve with time.
10. If you're having tonsillectomy because you've had a peri-tonsillar abscess (PTA), studies show that most patients who have a PTA and don't have tonsillectomy never get another PTA.
11. The GREAT majority of tonsillitis occurs in childhood, teens, and early 20's, when people are leading active social lives and encountering multiple sources of infection.
12. These are just some of the reasons that insurance companies are reluctant to approve their insureds for tonsillectomy.
My advice is to forget it and go on with your life.
Absolutely safe. With today's monitoring that anesthesia does, it is very safe. All the studies point to this. So yes, feel secure in going to sleep for your tonsillectomy
Anesthesia has side effects. Discuss risks and benefits with Anesthesia doctor.
Yes. Better control over the airway, bleeding, and patient anxiety.
