zenker's or tonsillolith??

[MedStudent2007]

hey guys,

i'm a 4th year med student and i'm not sure if you guys, ENT or the dental forum would be able to answer this question. i am seeing an ENT doc next week but wanted to see what your thoughts were on this.

this is pretty gross, but here it goes:

i'm 28 and about 6 months ago, randomly produced this white, spongy, extremely foul-smelling, tooth-sized "glob" from my throat. at first, i thought it was old food that somehow got stuck and forgot about it. then it happened again a few weeks later and now its been happening every few weeks. i now get this funny sensation in the back of my throat (the best description i can give is like popcorn kernel stuck to the back of my throat) and i cannot see it, just feel it. i try to cough or bring it up with the back of my tongue (like you're about to vomit or bring up phlegm), but it usually stays there. then a few days later, it comes up on its own.

its disturbing and to say the least, not very attractive to my boyfriend when i told him about it.

at first, i was convinced it was zenker's diverticulum - but i've researched it a bit and i've come across the term "tonsillolith" or tonsil stones. my symptoms seem to pretty much match this rather than zenker's. have you guys heard about it or had a pt with it?

PS. i do NOT have dysphagia, coughing, tonsillitis (although i get colds often and had horrible tonsillitis as a child). i don't regurgitate food i just ate.

so there...and yes, i am seeing an ENT next week...so we'll see what happens.

any thoughts? comments?

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[pseudoknot]

I had tonsilloliths, and it was exactly as you describe. I had a tonsillectomy a couple years ago due to OSA and they haven't reappeared.

I'm happy about the tonsillectomy since it also cured my snoring, but it was the most painful experience of my life, especially since the ENT sent me home with only Tylenol III. I ended up staying the night in the ER on morphine and then eventually getting on 20mg oxycodone q 4 hrs, which controlled the pain adequately. Not that you asked...

 

[MedStudent2007]

wow! thanks for answering. this morning i thought i was the only person with this problem and felt kind of freakish (well, i probably still am...this is such a weird thing to have and i had never even heard about it). but anyway, its nice to know after doing a little internet research that i am not alone. there are tons of people with this problem.

so yeah, i saw that tonsillectomies seem to be a good answer. i also read about lasers. is there an absolute need for a tonsillectomy? i've heard horrible stories of pain, etc (just as you described). i guess i can deal with the stones but can this cause any sort of damage or problems in the future if i don't get my tonsils taken out? i'm asking b/c the stones are my only problem...other people apparently also have severe tonsillitis or dysphagia or odynophagia, etc, etc. i don't have any of those problems (not even halitosis...according to my friends). and i don't have OSA. glad that you are stone and snore free!

i really appreciate you answering...