30,000 children are needlessly having their tonsils removed each year in the UK

Researchers have warned that over 30,000 children in Britain are needlessly having their tonsils removed every year, which is costing the NHS tens of millions of pounds annually.

During the study, researchers at the University of Birmingham investigated the medical records of 1.6 million children between the years 2005 and 2016, and found that around 88 per cent of the children who had undergone surgery to have their tonsils removed were unlikely to have received any benefit from the procedure.

They also reported that many children who could have benefited from having their tonsils removed missed out on the operation.

NHS guidelines stipulate that tonsils should only be removed if a patient has had in excess of seven sore throats in one year, over five sore throats each year for two continuous years, or three per year for three continuous years.

However, of the records analysed, the researchers found that just over 12 per cent of the children who had undergone surgery had reported only five or six sore throats in a year. 45 per cent had suffered two to four in a year and 10 per cent had had just one sore throat in a year.

Researcher Professor Tom Marshall said “Research shows that children with frequent sore throats usually suffer fewer sore throats over the next year or two.

“In those children with enough documented sore throats, the improvement is slightly quicker after tonsillectomy, which means surgery is justified.

“But research suggests children with fewer sore throats don’t benefit enough to justify surgery, because the sore throats tend to go away anyway.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Paralegal, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (karenmotley@chadlaw.co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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