Tonsils

The main function of the tonsils is to make defences called antibodies. The amount they produce will be the same regardless of their size.

Excessive Size (Hypertrophy), which can lead to multiple issues such as snoring, dental problems, hyperactivity, etc…

In the case of a snoring child with excessively large tonsils (hypertrophy), the treatment involves laser reduction of the tonsils, supplemented if necessary, with removal of the adenoids or adenoids in the same surgical procedure, which lasts only 10 minutes and is performed on an outpatient basis.

The main advantages of laser reduction of the tonsils are:

• It is a painless intervention
• Absence of bleeding. Represents a complication in 6.7% of total tonsillectomies performed with the conventional technique.
• Preservation of a small part of the tonsillar tissue, which allows for the full maintenance of the tonsils’ function: the production of defenses or antibodies.
• It can be performed at any age, no matter how young the child is.
• Due to the simplicity of the intervention, it only requires a few hours of hospital stay.

With all this, within a maximum of 72 hours, breathing will be completely normal, with the complete absence of snoring, sweating, and forced postures, as the tonsillar and adenoidal hypertrophy has been corrected.

Recurrent infections, i.e. tonsillitis with fever and/or pus plaques. The treatment of tonsillitis consists of removing the tonsil completely. We use a technique that avoids stitches, which minimises the incidence of complications. This technique is based on that of Boston Children’s Hospital.

Halitosis or bad breath. It is often caused by deposits of food and other debris in the crypts or holes in the tonsil. Due to the action of bacteria in the mouth, these products will degrade and transform into a white material, which we call caseum (“rotten food”) and which will emit a bad smell. It can also cause a feeling of discomfort in the throat.

In halitosis, the treatment, called Tonsillar Cryptolysis with laser, consists of eliminating the whitish plaques (caseum), as well as the crypts or small cavities in which they are lodged. To achieve this, we have developed an innovative technique that consists of eliminating all the crypts and the caseum they contain with a laser. It is a minimally invasive, quick (20 minutes), painless, non-bleeding and outpatient procedure. With tonsillar cryptolysis, the healthy portion of the tonsil is maintained, fully preserving its usual defence function. In addition, the patient can leave the clinic within a few hours, without discomfort, and return to normal activity the following day.