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

In 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.