Abstract
Objective: Primary- To study the aetiology of asymmetric tonsillar enlargement.
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted over a period of 18 months (January 2017 – June 2018) and comprised of 54 patients of all age groups and either sex diagnosed as having asymmetric tonsillar enlargement and underwent either tonsillectomy or biopsy in the department of ENT, Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. After obtaining consent for the study, detailed history taking and clinical examination were performed and other investigation reports were noted. Later the histopathology report of the operated specimen was obtained. All these results were analysed.
Results: Etiology was inferred from histopathological examination where 31(57.4%) of them were diagnosed with chronic tonsillitis. This was followed by 26% of squamous cell carcinoma. There were 4 cases of tonsillar cyst and 2 cases of Large B cell Non-Hodgkin‘s lymphoma. There was one case each of hamartomatous polyp, tonsillolith and clear cell carcinoma. The benign lesions together constituted 68.5% (37 cases) and 31.5% (17 cases) showed malignancy. Elderly males showed a significant association with the chance of developing malignancy.
Keyword: Asymmetric Tonsillar Enlargement.
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Corresponding Author
Dr Sindhu V Nath
Additional Professor, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Govt. Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India