Tonsillolithiasis with actinomycotic infection: a case report.

Tonsillar calcifications, tonsilloliths, are not rare conditions for routine ear nose throat examinations. Their size vary from barely visible to the pea size and they should be kept in mind in the differential diagnoses of radiopaque lesions in this region. We report a 42-year-old male patient who had a large tonsillolith together with an actinomycotic infection of tonsillar region. The patient complained about recurrent tonsillar infections. In his routine ear nose throat examination a large tonsillolith, lodged in the right palatine tonsil, was observed. The patient underwent tonsillectomy under general anesthesia. Histopathologic evaluation confirmed the diagnosis of tonsillolith. Interestingly, actinomycotic infection was observed. The pathogenesis of tonsilloliths is not completely defined. Many investigators have suggested that tonsilolliths originate as a result of recurrent tonsillar infections. Our purpose is to remind the tonsillolith in the differential diagnoses of chronic tonsillar region pathologies.