In spite of increasing attention given to the immunological role of the tonsil, it is widely accepted that tonsillectomy produces good results. In our study, we investigated the incidence of recurrent tonsillitis and the effect of tonsillectomy. Otolaryngological examinations were carried out on 36, 485 Japanese school children 7 to 20-years of age, for 6 consecutive years. Prevalent rate of palatine tonsillar hypertrophy was found to be 16.3%, the highest rate being in 7-year-old children and the incidence decreased gradually with age, to 1.6%, the lowest rate, at the 20-year-old persons. Prevalent rate of chronic palatine tonsillitis was 12.7% in 7-year-old children, gradually decreased to 6.7%, the lowest rate being in 15-year-old children, but an increase with age at a rate of 13.5% was seen in the 20-year-old persons. The overall prevalent rate of palatine tonsillar hypertrophy and chronic tonsillitis was 11.6% and 10.6% for primary school children. On the other hand, 167 tonsillectomized patients during the years from 1973 to 1976 were followed up using a questionnaire. The effect of operation on sore throat, recurrent colds, high fever, foreign sensation of the throat and cervical lymphoadenopathy, were considered. Although this was not a controlled study, a noticeable reduction in the frequency of these conditions was evident postoperatively. One hundred and fifth-five patients (94.5%) stated they were satisfied with the tonsillectomy.
