Routine abscess tonsillectomy: late results

The late results of abscess tonsillectomy as a routine treatment of peritonsillar abscess were investigated. The material comprises 113 patients. Follow-up was performed two to five years after the operation (bilateral dissection tonsillectomy under general anesthesia). Symptoms of pharyngitis, recurrent or chronic, were present in 17 percent of the patients, in most cases without major objective changes in the throat. The incidence of these symptoms was highest--70 percent--in patients past middle age without any history of trouble from the throat before the peritonsillar abscess. Tonsil remnants were seen in 28 percent, but only 6 percent of the patients had new episodes of febrile throat infections. The results are discussed. A reserved attitude to abscess tonsillectomy (and to interval tonsillectomy) is recommended for peritonsillar abscess in elderly patients without previous trouble from the throat.