Until such evidence is available, he would advise patients who have had four episodes of tonsillitis in one year or three in six months that they are likely to have on average two and a half days of sore throat in the next six months if they decide not to have the operation; if they decide to have the operation they are likely to have about 13 days of severe pain immediately after surgery, and then on average half a day of sore throat in the next six months.
He would also make them aware that they might have minor postoperative complications and very rarely life threatening complications.
I have strep throat again. It’s at least the second time this year, and maybe the third – I wasn’t tested for it in January when I had similar symptoms.
Several of my friends are relating stories that tonsillectomy stopped recurring strep throat for them, and I’ve been reading up on it, but the excerpt above is one of many that have given me considerable pause.
I mean, after all, I’ve already had one big operation in my neck (thyroidectomy), and that one left me with unpleasant consequences (parathyroid damage, meaning inability to regulate calcium in my bloodstream). I’m pretty hesitant to go messing around in there again.