Role of tonsillectomy in histology for adults with unilateral tonsillar enlargement

Unilateral tonsillar enlargement (UTE) may indicate malignancy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the necessity of tonsillectomy for histological examination as a routine practice for every such case. We attempted to identify every adult who had tonsillectomy in our unit from January 1991 to January 2000 in whom the indication for operation was unilateral tonsillar enlargement. The case notes and pathology records were reviewed. One hundred and seven cases were identified but 9 case records could not be found, leaving 98 cases for analysis. Forty-eight were men and 50 were women, aged 16–85 (median age 32). Twenty-three malignancies were identified (23%). A high degree of clinical suspicion was noted pre-operatively in 37 cases, which included all 23 malignancies. Malignancy was more common in the presence of ulceration, male sex, lymphadenopathy, and age 45 years or more, and when it was the patient who first noticed the tonsillar enlargement. Current smoking and persistent pain were not significantly associated with malignancy. Night sweats and weight loss were uncommon. In many cases the apparent tonsillar enlargement was spurious due to asymmetry of the tonsillar pillars.