Unilateral tonsillar swelling is a fairly common presenting complaint in an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) department. It may or may not be associated with any other symptoms.
Causes
- Most of the time, the tonsil asymmetry is secondary to previous history of tonsillitis, quinsy, and tonsil stones.
- Other benign lesions to cause tonsil swelling may include a mucus retention cyst, lipoma, polyp or papilloma.
- Sometimes, it is the site of primary malignancy. Malignancy of the tonsils is a rare diagnosis and can present with few symptoms and signs. Thus, a high degree of clinical suspicion is warranted when assessing such a patient. Asymmetrical tonsillar swelling is a common reason for referral to the otolaryngologists to rule out malignancy.
Malignancy of the tonsils has an annual incidence of 0.5% of all new malignancies in the US and thus represents a small number of head and neck malignancies.
The most common and important two types of tonsillar malignancy are squamous cell carcinoma and lymphoma.
Treatment
Treatment depends on staging but usually involves surgical resection followed by radiotherapy.
Survival rate
Mortality again varies with staging but can be as high as 80% within 5 years of treatment. It is the possibility of tonsillar malignancy that alerts us when confronted with a unilateral tonsillar enlargement.
Very very Useful informations