The first tonsillectomy was recorded in India in 1000 B.C. During the ensuing 3000 years, the popularity of the procedure has waxed and waned.
In 1959, 1.4 million tonsillectomies were performed in the United States. Although that number has dropped to 530,000, tonsillectomy remains the third most common surgery for children ages 0 to 14 in the United States.
Learn more about tonsillitis and tonsillectomy.