Tonsillectomy is generally recommended when tonsillitis recurs 7 or more times a year, or when sleep apnea or breathing difficulty is present. For borderline cases, strengthening immune function to lower recurrence frequency can be a realistic alternative.

The Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective

In Dongjedang's clinical experience, there are cases where children recurring 4-6 times a year were managed with Korean medicine treatment to postpone surgery or extend the recurrence interval by 2-3 times. Strengthening lung-stomach function and correcting a throat-heat constitution can reduce inflammation frequency while preserving the immune defense function, without removing the tonsils. However, when surgical criteria are clearly met, the judgment of an ENT specialist takes priority.