THE ROUTINE HISTOPATHOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OFTONSILLECTOMY SPECIMENS AT HOSPITAL UNIVERSITI SAINSMALAYSIA – RETROSPECTIVE STUDY AND ITS IMPLICATION

Tonsillectomy is performed for several indications, the two commonest in practiceare infective ( chronic tonsillitis ) and obstructive symptoms such as sleep apnea.The objective of this study is to determine the necessity of routinely performedhistopathological examination of specimens post-tonsillectomy . In this paper, aretrospective evaluation of 480 specimens from 241 patient who has undergonetonsillectomies in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia between January 2004 andOctober 2005 was done. It was found that 462 ( 96.25 % ) were reactive lymphoidhyperplasia and 18 ( 3.75 % ) were follicular hyperplasia. None of them werefound malignant. The result of this study indicate that routine histopathologicalexamination of tonsillectomy specimens are unnecessary and results only in addedcost and a loss of man hours.