Tonsils and adenoids are lumps of tissue (similar to the glands in your neck).
The tonsils sit on either side of the back of your throat (pharynx). Adenoids sit where the back of your nose meets your throat.
You should be able to see your tonsils but only your doctor can see your adenoids as they’re more difficult to see.
Tonsils and adenoids are part of your body’s system that fights infection (immune system) and are only important during the first few years of life.
A tonsillectomy (tapahinga repe korokoro) is an operation to remove your tonsils. About 4 in 1000 children have a tonsillectomy every year. An adenotonsillectomy is an operation to remove both your adenoids and your tonsils. Tonsils and adenoids are not essential and removing them won’t harm your immune system.
Once your adenoids are remove. They very rarely grow again. After your tonsils remov. You shouldn’t get tonsillitis again but you can still get throat infections due to colds and the flu.
Tonsils and adenoids are only remove if they are doing more harm then good.
Obstructed breathing
Your doctor may recommend an operation if you or your child have swollen or enlarged tonsils that block your airways and cause snoring, difficulty breathing or short pauses in breathing (sleep apnoea). The operation is more successful if no other conditions are contributing to sleep-disordered breathing, eg, obesity. One third of operations are performed because of sleep apnoea.
Frequent and severe bouts of tonsillitis
Your doctor may recommend an operation if you or your child have ongoing or repeated infections of the tonsils (tonsillitis) that are affecting your daily life.
Your doctor may recommend an operation when there is so much damage to your tonsils that they remain infected and do not respond well to antibiotic treatment. This may cause a sore throat much of the time, often with bad breath and sometimes yellow, cheesy, bad-smelling and bad-tasting material in the small cracks of your tonsils.
Other reasons
- If you have an abscess behind your tonsils (quinsy) that does not respond to drainage.
- If you have diabetes, heart valve problems or immunodeficiency, tonsillectomy may be considered because of concerns that the tonsil infection may spread to other parts of your body.
- If a biopsy is needed to evaluate a suspected tumour of the tonsil.