Taste disorders after tonsillectomy: A long‐term follow‐up

• DOI: 10.1002/lary.23270
• Publication Date: 2012-03-29T11:03:50Z
• Authors: Clemens Heiser; Basile N. Landis; Roland Giger; Helene Cao Van; Nils Guinand; Karl Hörmann; Boris A. Stuck
• Keywords: Questionnaires; Adult; Male; Time Factors; Dysgeusia/epidemiology/etiology/physiopathology; gustation; Dysgeusia; Severity of Illness Index; Taste Disorders; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; Age Distribution; Postoperative Complications; 0302 clinical medicine; Germany; Surveys and Questionnaires; Humans; Sex Distribution; tonsillectomy; Retrospective Studies; Tonsillectomy; Postoperative Complications/epidemiology/physiopathology; Incidence; info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/616.8; Middle Aged; Taste Disorders/epidemiology/etiology/physiopathology; ddc:616.8; Taste; Female; Tonsillectomy/adverse effects/methods; dysgeusia; Follow-Up Studies

AbstractIn a former study, taste disturbances after tonsillectomy seemed to be more frequent than expected. Eight percent of patients reported subjective taste disorders 6 months after tonsillectomy. Fifteen patients from the initial trial, who reported taste disorders after tonsillectomy, were contacted again for this long‐term follow‐up. A telephone interview using the same questionnaire addressing the current self‐estimate of taste function was performed. At 32 ± 10 months following surgery, two (0.9%) patients still reported suffering from taste disturbance. This long‐term follow‐up study shows that dysgeusia following tonsillectomy occurs in approximately 1% of patients. These data should be considered when patients are informed about complications after tonsillectomy.