Paramesh Puttasiddaiah, Manoj Kumar, Pushkas Gopalan, Simon T Browning
{"title":"Tonsillectomy and biopsy for asymptomatic asymmetric tonsillar enlargement: are we right?","authors":"Paramesh Puttasiddaiah, Manoj Kumar, Pushkas Gopalan, Simon T Browning","doi":"","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of malignancy in patients with clinically asymmetrical tonsils and who are otherwise asymptomatic.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>Retrospective review of our experience based on case note review, carried out in a district general hospital setting during a period of two years.</p><p><strong>Material and methods: </strong>142 patients who had undergone tonsillectomy and biosy were included in the study. Histological studies of all these patients obtained and correlated with the clinical findings.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>None of the patients with asymmetric enlargement of tonsils but are otherwise asymptomatic had shown histological evidence of malignancy. However all the 3 patients with associated suspicious symptoms in the presence of asymmetric tonsils were diagnosed as having tonsillar malignancy.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Tonsillar asymmetry in the absence of other associated risk factors may not indicate malignancy and a period of watchful waiting is considered appropriate prior to any surgical intervention.</p>","PeriodicalId":76656,"journal":{"name":"The Journal of otolaryngology","volume":"36 3","pages":"161-3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2007-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"The Journal of otolaryngology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of malignancy in patients with clinically asymmetrical tonsils and who are otherwise asymptomatic.
Design: Retrospective review of our experience based on case note review, carried out in a district general hospital setting during a period of two years.
Material and methods: 142 patients who had undergone tonsillectomy and biosy were included in the study. Histological studies of all these patients obtained and correlated with the clinical findings.
Results: None of the patients with asymmetric enlargement of tonsils but are otherwise asymptomatic had shown histological evidence of malignancy. However all the 3 patients with associated suspicious symptoms in the presence of asymmetric tonsils were diagnosed as having tonsillar malignancy.
Conclusion: Tonsillar asymmetry in the absence of other associated risk factors may not indicate malignancy and a period of watchful waiting is considered appropriate prior to any surgical intervention.