Taste Disorders after Tonsillectomy: Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

The authors describe a case of dysgeusia that occurred during the recovery period after a tonsillectomy. The cause was thought to be a lesion to the lingual branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve because of the location of the symptoms at the posterior region of the buccal cavity and because of the raised electrogustometric thresholds in the posterior region of one half of the tongue. Clarification of this type of case was made by a review of the literature from 1966 to June 2004, carried out with the aid of Medline. From a medicolegal standpoint, it is important to inform the patient of the risk of dysgeusia after tonsillectomy, especially if that patient has a profession in which taste plays an essential role.

Keywords

dysgeusia glossopharyngeal nerve tonsillectomy

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Beck

C. N.

Glossopharyngeus and tonsillectomy [in German]. Laryngol Rhinol Otol (Stuttg) 1979; 58: 463–5.

Rieder

. A rare complication: Disorder of taste-function after tonsillectomy [in German]. Laryngol Rhinol Otol (Stuttg) 1981; 60: 342.

Donati

Pfammatter

Mauderli

Vassella

. Neurological complications following tonsillectomy [in German]. Schweiz Med Wochenschr 1991; 121: 1612–7.

Ohtsuka

Tomita

Murakami

. Anatomical study of the tonsillar bed: The topographical relationship between the palatine tonsil and the lingual branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve [in Japanese]. Nippon Jibiinkoka Gakkai Kaiho 1994; 97: 1481–93.

Vories

. Dysgeusia associated with tonsillectomy. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1999; 121: 303–4.

Tomita

Ohtsuka

. Taste disturbance after tonsillectomy. Acta Otolaryngol Suppl (Stockh) 2002(suppl 546): 164–72.

Uzun

Adali

Karasalihoglu

. Unusual complication of tonsillectomy: Taste disturbance and the lingual branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve. J Laryngol Otol 2003; 117: 314–7.

Cruz

Green

. Thermal stimulation of taste. Nature 2000; 403: 889–92.

Kveton

Bartoshuk

. The effect of unilateral chorda tympani damage on taste. Laryngoscope 1994; 104: 25–9.

10.

Bergdahl

. Perceived taste disturbance in adults: Prevalence and association with oral and psychological factors and medication. Clin Oral Investig 2002; 6: 145–9.

11.

Gomez

. Taste. Physiology and anatomo-physiology. Clinical value of electrogustometry. III [in French]. Rev Stomatol Chir Maxillofac 1987; 88: 287–97.

12.

Lobb

Elliffe

Stillman

. Reliability of electrogustometry for the estimation of taste thresholds. Clin Otolaryngol 2000; 25: 531–4.

13.

Kuga

Ikeda

. Evaluation of gustatory threshold changes in healthy subjects [in Japanese], Nippon Jibiinkoka Gakkai Kaiho 1996; 99: 411–6.

14.

Min

Wada

Sakamoto

. New apparatus stimulating the region of tongue innervated by glossopharyngeal nerve and its application to monosodium glutamate (MSG) solution. Appl Human Sci 1998; 17: 67–71.