1000 BC: Tonsillectomy was first described in India.
50 AD: First primitive scalpel was used by Celsus to remove tonsil tissue.
625: The earliest description of the procedure was by Paul of Aegina.
Mid-eighteenth century: Caque of Rheims perform tonsillectomies on a regular basis.
Phillip Syng invented what would become the forerunner for the modern tonsillotome.
McKenzie further developed it turned it into the modern day tonsil guillotine.
1867: The early version of adenoidectomy involved using a ring forceps through the nasal cavity to remove adenoid tissue by William Meyer.
Dr. Pachan described electric cautery use for tonsillectomy.
Last twenty years: Newer techniques gain popularity: bipolar electrocautery, use of the microscope, lasers, ultrasonic scalpel, and most recently, high frequency ablation of tonsillar tissue.
