Aaron Hartman, MDFunctional Medicine Specialist | Clinical Researcher

500,000 Kids Had Their Tonsils Removed Every Year — Tonsils Are Not Useless #shorts

25 Jun 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:18

In this YouTube short, Dr. Aaron Hartman explains that in the 1950s roughly half a million children underwent routine tonsillectomies each year, based on the belief that tonsils were unnecessary. He challenges that notion by citing evidence that removing tonsils actually raises the risk of respiratory illnesses by about 28%, including allergies and infections. After this risk was recognized, tonsillectomy rates fell by roughly 90%, illustrating how a long‑standing medical practice can become a harmful blind spot. Dr. Hartman uses this example to highlight broader systemic blind spots in healthcare—routine procedures that may be unnecessary or harmful—and invites viewers to share other examples or personal experiences, encouraging a collaborative learning effort to improve health outcomes.

Chapters

Half a million kids got their tonsils out every year in the 1950s. It was a routine procedure. Sometimes they removed just to prevent the risk for a sore throat. Don't worry, you don't need those tonsils. They don't actually do anything. Wrong. Another blind spot in healthcare system we got wrong for, you know, 50+ years. So what, what's the issue with this? Removing your tonsils actually increases your risk for respiratory illness 28%. Allergies, infections. So we actually did this procedure to be healthy and actually caused harm. Since learning this, the surgery rate for tonsillectomies has dropped 90%, but yet we did this for 50+ years. What other routine procedures are we doing now that we're not— that we don't need? Is there something you have any ideas about? I have ideas. I'm gonna share this a little later on, but the idea is something as basic as a tonsillectomy, half a million a year, dropped 90%. What once we realized we didn't need to do it. This happens all the time in the healthcare system. These are blind spots. These are medical mishaps, things we think that are right that are just plain wrong. And learning about these can help prevent you from these issues. I would love to hear if you've, you or a loved one have ever had one of these happen to you, or the ones, do you think there's blind spots in healthcare system? Share with me. I'd love to learn from you. There's something you think that our healthcare system's doing this just plain wrong. Let's learn from each other to help get our, all of our health moving forward.