Status of tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy: 1977.

Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy, performed either in combination or separately, still constitute the most common major operations performed in the United States. This report is an attempt to present briefly the current status of knowledge concerning the epidemiology and natural history of conditions for which these operations are performed, the incidence of the operations, and the type and qualifications of the physicians performing the procedures, a review of the problems of the previous studies designed to determine efficacy, an update of the current study being conducted in Pittsburgh, and, finally, what little is known of the morbidity, mortality, and costs of these procedures.