Removing the tonsils of children with mild or moderate throat infections is more expensive and has fewer health benefits than simply watching and waiting, say researchers.
In a study involving 300 children aged 2 to 8 who had been advised to have their tonsils out, those who avoidedsurgery had fewer annual visits to doctors and lower resulting medical costs fevers and throat infections.
Tonsils are masses of tissue at the back of the throat that trap bacteria and viruses a person may breathe in.
"Surgery resulted in a significant increase in costs without realising relevant clinical benefit," Erik Buskens, an epidemiologist, and colleagues at the University Medical Centre Utrecht in the Netherlands wrote in Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.
Tonsillectomy is one of the most frequently performed surgical procedures for children, who have traditionally had their tonsils removed to relieve repeated throat infections and related fevers.
Although doctors today carry out far fewer tonsil operations than in the past, the Dutch study provides evidence that many children who do have the procedure see little, if any, benefit.
In their study, conducted between 2002 and 2003, the team excluded children with frequent throat infections or those who had their tonsils removed because of sleep apnoea.
The researchers asked parents to track their children's respiratory symptoms, measure their temperatures daily and record any costs related to their care.
They found that annual costs among the group which did not have surgery was about ¬551 ($1070) a year, about 46 per cent less than the ¬803 for children who had their tonsils removed.
The children who avoided surgery also had fewer fevers, throat infections and respiratory illnesses.
Costs incurred by parents taking days off work and other expenses were not included.
