Partial intracapsular tonsillectomy (PIT) was revisited in 2003 as an alternate surgical option to total tonsillectomy for the treatment of tonsillar hypertrophy. However, evaluation of the existing literature on PIT reveals that it is largely focused on comparing perioperative outcomes after PIT and total tonsillectomy, with few data regarding long-term outcomes. The goal of this commentary is to explain why PIT was not incorporated into the 2019 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation clinical practice guideline for tonsillectomy, while acknowledging its use and potential advantages and disadvantages and outlining future research opportunities.
Keywords: guidelines; intracapsular; partial; tonsillectomy; tonsillotomy.