Lingual tonsillectomy: a treatment for inflammatory lesions of the lingual tonsil.

Lingual tonsillectomy is a surgical treatment that is seldom performed because lingual tonsillitis is infrequently diagnosed. We have reviewed a group of patients with lingual tonsillitis or lingual tonsil hyperplasia who were treated with lingual tonsillectomy. Lingual tonsil lesions, the anatomy and histology of the lingual tonsil, and surgical approaches to lingual tonsillectomy are discussed.