We’ve come a long way since the stone age. Yet, our connection with stones remains unstained. Disagree? Hop on to this case of stone in a tonsil and it might just change your mind.
A 12 year old girl presented with a complaint of pain on swallowing for one year. Fortunately, the pain was never severe and it had never radiated to some other structure. The patient reported having recurrent episodes of sore throat, easily reversible with medicines, for the last 6 years. Her condition did not have any associated factors and her family history was insignificant too.
Upon examination, the patient clearly had massively enlarged tonsils. But that was it. No other significant thing was found upon the examination of other areas of her oral cavity and oropharynx. This led to a preliminary diagnosis of recurrent tonsillitis for which the patient got advised a tonsillectomy under general anaesthesia.
Snow Coloured Tonsil Clocks In a Second Diagnosis
The patient showed up three weeks later for her tonsillectomy. Only this time, a white plaque also accompanied her left tonsil. The plaque was hard and stubborn. Also, her tonsil was tender on touch too.
These new findings suggested a radiographic assay. And so X-ray and CT Scan showed a 3.9 by 3.4 cm shadow in the patient’s left tonsillar area. This shadow clearly indicated a stone. Thus, a second provisional diagnosis of giant tonsillolith joined the table.
Stones Are No Good, Right?
Following the diagnosis, doctors first removed the stone and then removed the tonsils altogether. No tonsils, no stones in them!
The patient enjoyed a smooth post-operative period. She did not develop any complications whatsoever. Still, she was kept on a follow-up for one year, all to make sure this little bud got everything right before it could bloom again.
