Cryodestruction of tonsils: a description of the procedure, indications and contraindications

Otorhinolaryngologists in the case of inflammatory diseases of the lymphoid tissue of the oropharynx are used to solve the problem radically, that is, by removing the affected organ. It can be both tonsils and adenoids. Cryodestruction of the tonsils is one of the methods that modern surgery can offer. It is important for the patient to compare the pros and cons, weigh the risks, effectiveness and cost of the procedure in order to avoid unpleasant surprises in the future.

What it is?

Cryodestruction of the tonsils is a method of treating the inflamed areas of the oropharyngeal lymphoid tissue by affecting very low temperatures. Liquid nitrogen freezes the tissue until necrosis and thus limits the pathological focus. To perform this procedure, it is better to contact a modern ENT center, rather than a community hospital. Because the probability of having suitable equipment and specialists in the first medical institution is much higher.

Features of the method:

- low temperatures activate the healing process of deformed tissues;

- the drainage function of the tonsils improves;

- the growth of nerves and vessels is stimulated.

The essence of the method

Cryodestruction of the tonsils is a painless, bloodless and low-traumatic method of tissue removal. It not only eliminates the affected areas, but also destroys the environment favorable for pathogenic bacteria. This solves two problems at once: it eliminates the source of infection and reduces the consequences of the inflammatory process.

It is known that low temperatures kill the majority of representatives of pathological flora. This allows you to sanitize the oropharynx at the local level, without overloading the body with the introduction of antibiotics. In addition, the dying off of frozen areas stimulates the growth and development of the remaining tissues. This allows to preserve the immune function of the organ.

Indications

Cryodestruction of the tonsils is necessary if the patient is diagnosed with chronic tonsillitis. In this case, tonsils, from an organ that supported local immunity, turn into a place of accumulation of bacteria with the development of a constant sluggish inflammation. This focus of infection can provoke disease not only in the respiratory system, but also in other body systems.

Large tonsils, which are increased due to excessive proliferation of lymphoid tissue and interfere with the patient's normal breathing and swallowing, must also undergo cryodestruction. Of course, in the first place it is necessary to find out the cause of hypertrophy and cure the pathological process, but it is unlikely to eliminate the defect by common methods. Therefore, doctors recommend to resort to local surgical methods.

The cryodestruction procedure is indicated in case of complications after tonsillitis and tonsillitis, such as arthropathies, cardiomyopathies and severe general intoxications.

Contraindications

Freezing tonsils, like other medical procedures, has a number of contraindications.

First, it is the presence at the time of the procedure exacerbated chronic diseases.

Secondly, the patient has deep disorders of the nervous and cardiovascular system.

Thirdly, endocrine pathologies, such as diabetes mellitus. The difficulty will be to lengthen the healing process and restore the tissues as a whole.

Fourth, the presence of cancer in history, as well as a decrease in blood coagulability. Although the procedure is bloodless, it is still necessary to take into account all the variants of the development of events.

In addition, contraindications to cryodestruction are pregnancy, allergy to low temperatures and massive damage to facial skull tissues.

Benefits

If a patient has angina more than three times a year, the doctor advises removing tonsils. This can be done in the usual way (loop), but can be done by cryodestruction. The advantages of this method over the classical are obvious.

1. Bloodlessness and low traumatic procedure.
2. Removal is not the whole body, but only the affected areas.
3. Preservation of the main function of lymphoid tissue - immune, due to the gradual restoration of tonsils to the previous value.
4. In chronic tonsillitis, scarring of the tonsils is often observed, a violation of the drainage of the lacunae. After cryodestruction, the scars are removed, and the expansion of the ducts allows to clear the lacuna from accumulated pus there.

Preparation

First of all, the patient is advised to go to the ENT department beforehand. This will help you tune in to the treatment and get ready for the procedure correctly. It is important to sanitize the oral cavity, go to the dentist for carious teeth, gum disease or bleeding. You also need to make a smear to identify microflora and carry out allergens.

For women there is another important condition. Cryodestruction is not recommended immediately before and during menstruation. This restriction is associated with an increase in blood pressure and the total amount of blood in the body.

The patient is advised not to eat at least four hours before the procedure, and also not to sing or speak much.

How does the procedure work?

Be sure to ask the doctor how the cryodestruction of the tonsils will pass. The price of this procedure is quite high, so you need to be sure that you trust your health to a professional. As a rule, municipal medical institutions can not provide the proper quality, so it is recommended to look for a specialist among private hospitals. The ENT center is one of the places where you can get highly qualified help.

Cryodestruction takes place in three stages.

1. The patient is seated in a chair, since the whole action will pass exactly in this position.
2. Local anesthesia is performed with a 10% solution of lidocaine. It can be either as a spray or as a liquid. A few minutes after application, the patient feels a slight numbness in the tonsils.
3. After the doctor was convinced that the patient is anesthetized, he takes a cryodestructor and puts it to the amygdala for a minute. This is enough to freeze the affected tissue. If the areas are larger than the working surface of the device, then the third stage is repeated several times.

Sometimes, according to the doctor's decision, it is necessary to conduct several sessions of cryopreservation. The gap between the procedures should be from seven to ten days.

Rehabilitation

You can leave the ENT department on the same day that the operation was performed. But a full recovery will come only after two weeks. After the effect of local anesthesia has passed, discomfort can last from four days to a week, gradually disappearing.

Reacting to aggressive external influence, the tissues of the oropharynx will be swollen for a while, and an unpleasant plaque can form on the tonsils, which will take place in seven days.

After three weeks, doctors recommend to come to a routine examination to the ENT doctor to assess the healing and the level of recovery of the body. If the first procedure was ineffective, and in the tonsils there were pathological foci, the cryodestruction is repeated.

The patient is recommended to follow the diet for the entire recovery period. Exclude from the diet cold, hot food, sharp, salty and pickled products. In addition, the patient should regularly rinse the mouth with antiseptic solutions to reduce the risk of re-infection.

Complications and cost

Complications, as a rule, arise because of low professionalism of the doctor or non-compliance with the rules of aseptic antiseptics. In addition, during or after the procedure, bleeding may occur.

On average, 4-7 thousand rubles will cost a single cryodestruction of the tonsils. The price is formed on the basis of the level of professionalism of the doctor, the fashionability of the clinic, consumables and used tools.