Advanced Treatment Options for Tonsillectomy
Dr. Amenta offers Advanced Treatment Options for Tonsillectomy including the Tissue Welding Tonsillectomy as well as the Partial Tonsillectomy with Radio-Frequency
Advanced Treatment Option (1):
Tissue Welding Tonsillectomy (Also known as “Thermal Fusion” or “Thermal Welding”)
- Uses moderate direct heat and pressure to simultaneously remove the tonsils and seal the blood vessels
- Very accurate so tissue can be preserved
- Minimal tissue damage results in faster healing with much less pain and smaller chance of bleeding
- Many adults (depending on tolerance and work requirements—no heavy lifting!) can return to work after one week
- For children, codeine-containing medications are no longer FDA approved for tonsillectomy.
- Minimizing pain for children is essential
- Liquid acetaminophen and/or ibuprofen are sufficient in children with this technique—without dangerous narcotics!
Advanced Treatment Option (2):
Partial Tonsillectomy with Radio-Frequency
- For Adults that have only obstructive problems with their tonsils and need to return to work in the most rapid time (i.e., within a week)!
- This involves reducing the tonsil size by about 85% using a solution activated by a special radio-frequency device.
- Leaves a small amount of tonsil tissue up against the muscles of the throat lessens the pain and irritation of this area
Tonsillectomy factoids:
- More than 500,000 tonsillectomies are performed in the U.S.
- Approximately 33% of tonsillectomies are performed on adults
- Chronic infection in adults is the most common reason for tonsillectomy
- This can include multiple strep throats over several years
- Or 1-2 severe tonsil infections causing hospitalizations or abscess drainages
- Or tonsil “stones” which are cheese-like clumps of material in the tonsils with irritation or odor
- Approximately 66% of tonsillectomies are performed on children
- Of the tonsillectomies performed on children, 80% are for obstructive breathing problems
- In many cases, a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy can normalize the sleep in a child to the point where small stature, nightmares, or bed wetting are improved
- In one study, 30% of children who were on medication for ADHD before their tonsillectomy had stopped this because they were no longer diagnosed with ADHD.
- Tonsillectomies are not done for obvious, laryngitis-type symptoms such as throat clearing, lump-in-the-throat feeling, voice changes, or blocked swallowing in the lower throat
- Vague sore throat is not a reason for tonsillectomy
- Please look at this illustration. If the patient’s tonsils are smaller than size 3 or 4, they are usually not enlarged enough to benefit the patient’s sleep if they are removed
Lecture on Dr. Amenta’s Experience with Tissue Welding Tonsillectomy
Here is a video of excerpts from a lecture Dr. Amenta gave on Tissue Welding Tonsillectomy
Here is the full lecture
Some useful links
Here is a report about the improvements in ADHD after tonsillectomy
Here is the actual study from the journal Pediatrics
Here is an animation of the Tissue Welding Tonsillectomy:
Here is a video of an actual Tissue Welding Tonsillectomy surgery:
Here is a video of a patient describing his experience from the Tissue Welding Tonsillectomy:
Here are two links two studies comparing Tissue Welding Tonsillectomy (here called “Thermal Welding Tonsillectomy”) to other methods:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18598834
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16730541
Here is the FDA’s warning for consumers about codeine medications in children
Here is an article for physicians describing tonsillectomy in children and the need to avoid codeine