Anginae are accumulations of lymphoid tissue that serve as a first defense and for the creation of antibodies at the entrance of air and food, especially in young children. Their maximum growth period is between 3 and 5 years of age.
Excessive enlargement of the tonsils can cause problems of repeated infections or respiratory obstruction, especially at night, known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS).
Symptoms of tonsillitis
In case of recurrent infections or tonsillitis, fever, sore throat with difficulty swallowing appear, which respond poorly to antibiotics or recur immediately after the end of treatment.
In cases of OSAHS, the child presents nocturnal snoring with pauses during which snoring and breathing are interrupted, but not respiratory chest movements. This causes a lack of oxygen in the blood, which in the long term can lead to cardiovascular problems.
Treatment for angina
In the indicated cases, treatment of angina is and consists of removal of the tonsils, in the case of recurrent infections, and removal or reduction, in the case of OSA.
Because of bleeding (the main risk of surgery) and the effect of saliva (which hinders healing), systems such as Radiofrequency are normally used, which seal the vessels and reduce this risk considerably.
When is angina removed?
Normally angina is removed in recurrent tonsillitis that do not respond to medical treatment or in OSA with large hypertrophy and adults or older children. In young children with OSAS, reduction is very effective.
Worsening of angina
Tonsil infections can lead to complications, such as peritonsillar abscesses in which the infection breaks out of what is purely the tonsil and spreads into the tissues of the neck.
These infections can become serious if they affect the vessels of the neck or descend into the thorax (mediastinum). For this reason they require surgical drainage and usually amygdylectomy after the infection has been overcome. Other complications of infections are rheumatic fever or some forms of psoriasis.
OSA due to adenotonsillar hypertrophy can cause overload of the heart and lungs (cor pulmonale), which are subjected to an extra effort to overcome the resistance produced by the lack of oxygen. Usually the problem disappears after removal/reduction of tonsils and adenoids.