Abstract

The palatine tonsils are paired nodular masses of lymphoid tissue situated on either side of the oropharynx. Despite their protective function, they are prone to infections. The present study aimed to analyse the various histopathological findings in tonsillar lesions. Material and method Histopathological findings of 180 cases were studied along with analysis of distribution of the lesions. The data collected was retrospective (July 2015 to October 2018) as well as prospective (November 2018 to June 2020) over a span of 5 years. Both tonsillectomy and tonsillar biopsies were included. The data was represented in the form of percentage and frequency. Results: The present study included 180 cases of tonsillar lesions. Histopathological evaluation revealed 158 (87.78%) inflammatory lesions, 13 (7.22%) benign lesions and 9 (5%) malignant lesions. Chronic tonsillitis was the commonest lesion. The benign lesions included cartilaginous choristoma, epidermal inclusion cyst, lymphangiomatous polyp and inflammatory myofibroblastic tumour. Among malignant lesions, squamous cell carcinoma was the most frequent tumour in 7 (3.88%) cases. We found 2 cases (1.11%) of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma. 157 patients presented with throat pain (87.22%), accompanied by odynophagia in 163 cases (90.56%), whereas fever in 16 cases (5.55%). All the patients showed enlarged, congested tonsils with congestion of anterior pillars and peritonsillar region. Conclusion: Study documented with Non neoplastic lesions of the tonsil surpassed the neoplastic lesions. Chronic tonsillitis was the most common histopathological diagnosis. Most of the tonsillar lesions present with similar clinical features hence histopathology remains the gold standard method for diagnosis.

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