Palatine tonsil volume estimation using different methods after tonsillectomy

This study was carried out to measure the volume of the palatine tonsil in otorhinolaryngology outpatients with complaints of adenotonsillar hypertrophy and chronic tonsillitis who had undergone tonsillectomy. To date, no study has investigated palatine tonsil volume using different methods and compared with subjective tonsil size in the literature. For this purpose, we used three different methods to measure palatine tonsil volume. The correlation of each parameter with tonsil size was assessed. After tonsillectomy, palatine tonsil volume was measured by Archimedes, Cavalieri and Ellipsoid methods. Mean right-left palatine tonsil volumes were calculated as 2.63 ± 1.34 cm³ and 2.72 ± 1.51 cm³ by the Archimedes method, 3.51 ± 1.48 cm³ and 3.37 ± 1.36 cm³ by the Cavalieri method, and 2.22 ± 1.22 cm³ and 2.29 ± 1.42 cm³ by the Ellipsoid method, respectively. Excellent agreement was found among the three methods of measuring volumetric techniques according to Bland-Altman plots. In addition, tonsil grade was correlated significantly with tonsil volume.