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Recurring strep throat: When is tonsillectomy useful?
By Mayo Clinic staff
- With Mayo Clinic emeritus consultant
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Dr. Jay Hoecker, an emeritus consultant in the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, brings valuable expertise to MayoClinic.com in general and primary care pediatrics. He has a particular interest in infectious diseases of children.
Dr. Hoecker, a Fort Worth, Texas, native, is certified as a pediatrician by the American Board of Pediatrics and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was trained at Washington University's St. Louis Children's Hospital, and in infectious diseases at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He has been with Mayo Clinic since 1989.
"The World Wide Web is revolutionizing the availability and distribution of information, including health information about children and families," Dr. Hoecker says. "The evolution of the Web has included greater safety, privacy and accuracy over time, making the quality and access to children's health information immediate, practical and useful. I am happy to be a part of this service to patients from a trusted name in medicine, to use and foster all the good the Web has to offer children and their families."
Definition (1)
- Strep throat in infants: A common diagnosis?
Treatments and drugs (1)
- Recurring strep throat: When is tonsillectomy useful?
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Question
Recurring strep throat: When is tonsillectomy useful?
My 7-year-old daughter has been diagnosed with strep throat four times in six months. Recently, after finishing a 10-day course of antibiotics, she again tested positive for strep. Should we consider having her tonsils removed?
Answer
from Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Usually, antibiotics kill strep bacteria. However, a child who repeatedly tests positive for strep throat may be a "strep carrier" or may indeed be getting repeated strep infections. In children who are strep carriers, the symptoms go away, but they still have strep bacteria remaining in their throats.
If a child has recurring strep throat — six or more positive strep cultures in one year — tonsillectomy may be considered. Children can still get strep throat after having their tonsils removed (tonsillectomy). But for some children with recurring strep throat, tonsillectomy reduces the frequency and severity of strep throat infections.
Tonsillectomy isn't recommended for every child with recurring strep throat. The decision to remove a child's tonsils must be weighed against many factors, including the frequency of strep throat infections, the risks of anesthesia and bleeding after the procedure, and missed school days to recover from the procedure.
Discuss with your pediatrician the potential benefit of tonsillectomy in your child's specific situation.
Next questionStrep throat in infants: A common diagnosis?
- Pichichero ME. Treatment and prevention of streptococcal tonsillopharyngitis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 8, 2009.
- Paradise JL, et al. Tonsillectomy and adenotonsillectomy for recurrent throat infections in moderately affected children. Pediatrics. 2002;110:7.
