THE ESSENTIAL
- Katy Golden had her tonsils removed when she was five years old.
- However, more than forty years later, she had to undergo the same surgery because her tonsils had grown back.
- This is due to a piece of tonsillar tissue, which remained despite the first operation and which allowed regrowth.
In 1983, Katy Golden had just had her tonsils removed. She was five years old. However, more than forty years later, she had to undergo the same surgery because her tonsils had grown back.
A piece of tonsillar tissue causing regrowth
Humans have two tonsils, located on both sides of the throat. Their role is to retain viruses and bacteria so that they do not enter the body. “However, sometimes the tonsils themselves become infected, can we read on the website of Vaud university hospital center. In this case, a fever and sore throat may appear. The tonsils usually turn red and swell, and will often have white spots.“
Last September, Kate Golden suffered from severe sore throats, which lasted and did not go away. So she went to see an ENT doctor… Very quickly, he made the diagnosis: her tonsils were swollen and inflamed. Kate Golden was amazed and told the practitioner that she had an ablation when she was five years old.
“I didn’t think it was possible, she explains to CNN. I was in disbelief and shocked to see that my tonsils – which I thought were gone – were the cause of this pain. The doctor told me, “Well, they must have grown back.” And I thought that was the strangest answer ever“. According to CNN, regrowth of tonsils is very rare, around 1 to 6% of people who have had surgery.
“I knew there was some kind of little flap or something that had been there for years, but I didn’t know what it was.” she indicates. This small flap was a piece of tonsil tissue, which was enough for his tonsils to grow back.
The technique of the operation in question
When Katy Golden was five years old, the surgical technique used for tonsil removal was “cold” and it happened that a piece of tonsillar tissue remained after the procedure. But rest assured, today, surgeons use other methods and this risk of regrowth, already very low, is further reduced!
In most cases, this operation goes well. It is carried out under general anesthesia. When patients wake up, they have two small sores where the tonsils were. These take between eight to fifteen days to heal, depending on the CHU de Nanteswhich can be quite painful for patients… But gives them an excuse to eat ice cream!
