Study Finds Having Your Tonsils Removed May Increase Your Risk Of Developing 28 Types Of Disease
IN BRIEF
The Facts:
The study accessed health records from 1.2 million Danish children between 1979 and 1999, 60,400 of which had a tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy or a combined surgery and found they're at greater risk for multiple diseases.
Reflect On:
The fact that what we accept as truth, medically speaking, isn't always correct.
Did you have your tonsils out as a child? Has a doctor given this recommendation to your child or a child you know? More than 530,000 tonsillectomy procedures are performed each year in the United States alone and in fact, it is one of the most common surgical procedures. New research is now showing that this operation can put patients at risk for contracting over 28 diseases later in life.
Some might say this is simply common sense, our organs are there for a reason, so maybe we should be doing everything possible to keep them there and avoid surgery whenever possible? Generally, the mainstream approach to medicine is if something is broke, go in and fix it, or remove it, rarely ever looking at the root cause of the issue and trying to determine why the symptoms are manifesting this way in the first place.
This study will serve as an excellent guide for doctors to be more mindful with the recommendation of this surgery and exploring all other options first.
Who Is A Candidate For Tonsillectomy?
Generally, children that are prone to contracting throat infections and have a difficult time breathing at night because of swollen tonsils are the typical entrants. While tonsillectomies can help to breathe during sleep and may reduce the frequency of throat infections in the short-term, Australian researchers found that the removal of tonsils or adenoids in the throat also increased the chances of allergic conditions and skin and eye diseases as well.
It is believed that this is because these tissues play a more important role that may have been previously thought by detecting and blocking the invasion of bacteria and viruses from getting into the lungs and throat.
The Study
According to authors from the Journal of the American Medical Association, Otolaryngology, “Risks were significant for many diseases and large for some,” after the surgery.
The study accessed health records from 1.2 million Danish children between 1979 and 1999, 60,400 of which had a tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy or a combined surgery. They then looked at these same children in their 30’s and found that those patients who had a childhood tonsillectomy had actually tripled their risks of infections of the upper airways, such as colds, rhinitis and bronchitis when compared to those who didn’t have their tonsils removed.
The risk of asthma and pneumonia was increased by around 50 percent in those who had the surgery. These infections are already common in the community, authors said that the extra impact of having your tonsils out was “considerable.”
“Our results show increased risks for long-term diseases after surgery, support delaying tonsil and adenoid removal if possible, which could aid normal immune system development in childhood and reduce these possible later-life disease risks,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Sean Byers from the University of Melbourne.
“As we uncover more about the function of immune tissues and the lifelong consequences of their removal, especially during sensitive ages when the body is developing.”
The removal of the adenoids — the tissue at the back of the roof of your mouth right under the nasal cavity actually doubled the risk of chronic pulmonary disease, which includes asthma and emphysema. These conditions are much rarer than typical respiratory infections, only 0.25 percent of the general population in their 30’s has a form of COPD.
Authors of the study concluded that it was “not surprising” that removing these key parts of the bodies immune system might make one more susceptible to contracting a respiratory or immune-related illness or disease. Heightened susceptibility to 28 forms of the disease, which included skin diseases, eye infections, and parasitic infections. These diseases were 78 percent more prevalent in people who had previously had these surgeries.
Because the aforementioned diseases are unrelated to the airways it goes to show that there is a greater function to the role of the tonsils than previously thought.
“Our results show increased risks for long-term diseases after surgery, support delaying tonsil and adenoid removal if possible, which could aid normal immune system development in childhood and reduce these possible later-life disease risks,” said lead author Dr. Shaun Bayers, from the University of Melbourne.
“As we uncover more about the function of immune tissues and the lifelong consequences of their removal, especially during sensitive ages when the body is developing.”
Tim Mitchell, a consultant otolaryngologist and council member of the Royal College of Surgeons, said the findings were interesting and “certainly warrant further investigation”.
“Before opting to remove tonsils or adenoids, surgeons will always consider and discuss all treatment options, including non-surgical treatments, with patients, and parents in the case of children,” he said.
“There has been a significant decrease in the number of tonsillectomies and adenoidectomies performed in the last few decades.”
Perhaps this is a good sign that whenever possible, we should leave the organs in the body.
Much Love
