Here’s a horror story for anyone who had tonsils removed as a child. A CNN article published this week describes a woman whose tonsils grew decades later—requiring a second operation to have them removed.
According to CNN, Katy Golden first had her tonsils removed in 1983 at the age of five. More than four decades later, Golden’s doctor discovered renewed tones, which may have been aggravating his sore throat. Thankfully, Golden’s second surgery went well, and tonsil regrowth is not uncommon.
The tonsils are round, fleshy masses located at the back of our throat. They perform the same function as our lymph nodes, containing white blood cells that protect against bacteria that enter our mouth or nose. Sometimes our tones can cause trouble, though. They can become very inflamed and infected, for example, or they can grow so naturally that they block our airway while we sleep, causing apnea. So doctors will remove them from time to time.
Problems related to the tonsils often appear early in life, and surgery is usually easier for children, so the procedure is often done in childhood. Some doctors, in order to reduce the burden of side effects such as pain and to reduce the recovery time, will choose to remove part of most of a person’s tonsils (partial or intracapsular tonsillectomy) instead of the whole thing (total tonsillectomy). Although this procedure has its advantages, it leaves open the possible risk of regrowth of tonsils.
According to CNN, Golden had five of his tonsils removed to help alleviate some inner ear problems, with no major problems later. He’s not sure when the drops came back, but he remembers seeing lumps in the back of his throat years ago, which used to “swell a lot” when he had a sore throat. This past fall, he decided to see an otolaryngologist (an ear, nose, and throat specialist) after having a very sore throat. That’s when his doctor made a surprising discovery—something Golden couldn’t believe at first.
“I didn’t think it was possible. “I was in disbelief and shocked that tones I thought were gone were causing me pain,” Golden told CNN. “He’s like, ‘They must be older.’ And I thought that was the weirdest answer ever.”
Regrowth of the tonsils is estimated to occur up to 6% of the time after a partial tonsillectomy. Some studies have suggested that having a high rate of respiratory disease, eating a lot of sugary foods, and having tonsil surgery at a young age can increase the risk of tonsil regrowth. Golden’s doctor, ophthalmologist Cynthia Hayes, says the type of surgery used to remove the tonsils may also have an effect on regrowth.
Back in the 1980s, tonsils were often removed using a scalpel or instruments with blades, known as “cold techniques.” Doctors these days will often rely on new “thermal techniques” such as bandaging, which uses low doses of radiofrequency energy to remove soft tissue, to remove tonsils. Some studies have shown that coblation tonsil removal appears to reduce the risk of complications such as pain compared to traditional methods. Hayes went the extra mile this time to make sure Golden’s tons never came back.
“I actually cut right up to the tonsil capsule and removed all this tissue,” Hayes told CNN. “Obviously I don’t have a magic ball, but I don’t expect it to happen again.”
As is often the case with seniors who lose their tons, Golden’s recovery was particularly painful this time. But he returned to an old method he used as a child to help him recover faster: chewing a lot of gum. And he’s looking forward to a slightly sore throat from now on.