Can the tonsils grow back after they are removed?

Although tonsils are one of the expendable parts of the human body, they are not easy to eliminate. In fact, even after being uprooted, they can grow back. For those who don't know, tonsils are small spheres made of lymphoid tissue that are found at the base of the tongue and at the back of the throat.

In babies, they act as an important part of the immune system and can fight off germs they normally ingest. When you grow up, they lose their function, and in most people they shrink and disappear.

In adulthood, the human body is already able to eliminate pathogens. In addition, other major parts of the immune system take on the role of tonsils. However, there are two reasons that justify their reappearance. The first is that the surgeon accidentally left a bit of tissue while removing them. The second is that he did the same thing, but on purpose.

The Return of the Killer Tonsils

When you have a tonsillectomy correctly, all tissue should be removed, so the chances of the tonsils returning are less. However, there is a complication in removing them that causes a rare incidence of regeneration.

“The tonsils come together with the back of the tongue, right at her very beginning. Therefore, it is not always possible to define where it ends, ”says Dr. Richard Rosenfeld, head of the ENT department at SUNY Medical Center. “For this reason, some tissue may be left after the operation, ” he adds.

In the last century, the process of removing the tonsils has been very standard, simply cutting them off. This procedure used to be popular in cases where the child often inflamed the throat. However, in the last decades it has been left aside. Today, tonsillectomy is reserved exclusively for patients whose tonsils are large enough to interfere with breathing.

A new type of surgery

In the US, some regions have adopted a new method of partial tonsil removal. In it, doctors just remove the excess tissue instead of pulling it out completely. Some suggest that this technique would help in the recovery process, although there is no consensus among experts.

The downside of this surgery is that it intentionally leaves parts of the tonsil, thus facilitating its regeneration from the old tonsils. It is noteworthy that this is not common, but is more common in young children whose lymphoid tissue is still growing. According to Rosenfeld, of the thousands of operations he has done, only one patient has returned with new copies.

On the other hand, adenoids - lymphatic tissues located between the nose and the back of the throat - are usually removed along with the tonsils. However, they can recover more often than they. Because adenoids are scattered throughout the nasal cavity, doctors are unable to remove them completely, so they can grow back easily.

Anyway, know that just because you removed the tonsils doesn't mean that they will never appear in your mouth again. If you're curious if your little friends are back, just take a mirror and check them out - they should be deep in your mouth, probably the same size as the originals.