Dr. Vincent Veli Palatini, M.D., Ear nose and throat surgeon at The Throat Well-being Institute in Atlanta, GA knows that dancing is not only for the ballroom.
“When you have large tonsils that touch each other, commonly we refer to them as 4+ tonsils, and some people refer to them as kissing tonsils. But I think it’s more complicated than that. My view is that they are dancing tonsils. There is an intimate connection between the two tonsils. They must negotiate food passing through as well as oxygen. So, there is a dance to this matter. I think it’s important to realize that it is a dance because average kisses don’t last as long as dances, especially when you think about a Waltz or slow dance. This concept will increase our understanding of tonsillar anatomy and disease pathogenesis.”
Dr. Palatini believes that the concept of dancing tonsils will help physicians deal with ailments like tonsillitis and help them better negotiate even tonsillectomies.
“When you’re breaking up a dance, you ultimately have to separate the people dancing. That’s my job during a tonsillectomy. I remove each tonsil one at a time,” commented Dr. Palatini.
Sticking to the dancing theme, we wondered if like dancing, there’s a lead tonsil like a lead dancer. Dr. Palatini sees this as an interesting concept.
“You know there are so many things that we don’t know about the human body. And especially the tonsils. We know there is an immune function in the tonsils as well. As we seek a better model of the tonsils, we will do the research and indeed find out if there is a lead dancing tonsil.”
Mary Tensor, RN, BSN works with Dr. Palatini, and she has taken a second look at tonsils because of the dancing tonsil concept.
Nurse Tensor comments, “Dr. Palatini has always been very innovative in the clinic and at our hospitals. We need visionary minds like his, and this pushes the envelope for better quality and better concepts. I’ll tell you it’s going to mean a better post operative recovery for our patients. In fact, I am engaged to Dr. Palatini, and I look forward to becoming Mary Tensor-Veli Palatini.”
Jack Reed, Vice President of Operations at The Throat Well-being Institute, is always interested in getting a cutting edge with surgical processes. “We’re getting ready for an in-service with Dr. Palatini to get all of our units and throat surgeons up to speed on the dancing tonsil concept. New ideas aren’t always accepted quickly, but I’m sure we will get everyone dancing efficiently to Dr. Palatini’s beat.”