Tonsillectomy Reasons in Adults

• Children make up the majority of tonsillectomy patients, but an adult might need his tonsils removed if frequent swelling or infections in them cause snoring or sleep apnea or if a doctor finds or suspects tonsil cancer.
  
  

Scalpel Dissection

• All patients undergoing tonsillectomy will have an anesthesiologist put them to sleep with a general anesthetic. The surgeon decides the best procedure for the tonsillectomy depending upon the patient's personal preferences and needs. Most commonly, the surgeon cuts the tonsils out of the back of the throat with a scalpel in a procedure known as cold knife dissection. Surgeons also might cut the tonsils out with a harmonic scalpel which vibrates at 50,000 times per second.
  
  

Heat, Radiofrequency and Other Procedures

• Tonsils can be burned out of the throat using a procedure known as electrocautery. The patient's general anesthetic prevents him from feeling any heat or pain during the procedure, but if surrounding tissues have heat damage, recovery could be more painful.
  
  One of two types of radiofrequency could be used to extract the tonsils: bipolar radiofrequency ablation, also known as coblation, and radiofrequency ablation. Coblation requires a general anesthetic, but radiofrequency ablation can be done in a doctor's office with the patient awake. Both of these apply probes to the tonsils to transmit radio waves which alter the molecular bonds of the tonsils. While several treatments of radiofrequency ablation only shrink the size of the tonsils, coblation can remove the tonsils or just a portion of them.
  
  The doctor could opt to point a hand-held carbon dioxide laser at the tonsils to vaporize the tissue. Known as laser tonsil ablation (LTA), this procedure could be offered to patients with chronic cases of tonsillitis, sleep apnea or blocked airways. Like radiofrequency ablation, LTA often is done in the doctor's office with the patient awake and using a local painkiller.
  
  

Recovery from Tonsillectomy

• Children often require less recovery time than adults and teenagers. Bleeding and pain commonly occur after the surgery. The patient takes a prescription for pain medication, stays hydrated, consumes bland, soft foods for several days and avoids strenuous exercise until cleared by the doctor to resume normal activities. Recovery time depends on the patient, but it can take 2 weeks or more.