Summary: Tonsillectomy (TE) is a frequent procedure performed at the Otolaryngology. The target of our retrospective study was to compare some of the criteria of TE during two time periods and to find the differences that occured in the Ear, Nose and Throat Department at Nymburk. We chose two five-year periods. The first between 1981–1985 and the second between 1996–2000. The second period was chosen because there were several changes in the medicines prescribed. The patients participated in selecting their treatments, they made decisions about their next therapies, examinations and the type of medicines. We discovered during our study that the number of TE decreased and care of the patients improved. The days in the hospital and the number of complications was lower. We investigated the cause of the decreased complications and improved care.

        Key words: tonsillectomy, Pittsburg study, chronic tonsillitis, peritonsillar abscess.