Number of tonsil operations per 1,000 children, 0–15 years
In 2024, a total of 5,200 tonsil operations were performed on children under the age of 16. The number of procedures dropped significantly during the pandemic. In 2023, the number exceeded pre-COVID-19 levels by a clear margin and rose slightly further in 2024. The number of operations per 1,000 inhabitants was highest in Finnmark in 2024, with a rate of just over 10. In other catchment areas, the rates ranged between 3.5 and 7. The average age of boys undergoing surgery is slightly lower than that of girls.
The proportion of patients receiving partial removal of the tonsils (tonsillotomy) has increased from just under 10% in 2015 to over 40% following the pandemic. According to the Tonsil Register, one reason for this is that the indication "hypertrophy" is more frequently used in children, for whom tonsillotomy is considered a safer procedure with fewer postoperative complications.
In 2024, 13% of children were treated by private providers. This proportion varies between catchment areas. UNN and St. Olav have the highest shares, at 49% and 30% respectively, while no children in the catchment areas of Førde, Fonna, or Telemark underwent surgery with private providers.
The reduction in the rate for the Bergen catchment area from 2022 to 2023 is likely due to a lack of reporting from contracted specialists in 2023.
The analysis is based on data from the Norwegian Patient Registry (NPR) for specialist healthcare services. The data includes activity in public hospitals, publicly funded private hospitals, and specialists in private practice under public funding contacts.
The sample consists of patients aged 0-15 years registered with a primary or secondary diagnosis of J35.0, J35.1, J35.3, J35.8, J35.9, J36, J39.0, J03.0, J03.8, J03.9, or G47.3 in combination with:
Tonsil operations with only the procedure codes EMB12 or EMB15 and at the same time none of the other procedure codes or fee codes are defined as tonsillotomy. All other tonsil operations are defined as tonsillectomy. Tonsillotomies are also performed by specialists, but since the fee codes K02f and K02g are tonsillectomy/tonsillotomy, it is not possible to distinguish between tonsillectomy and tonsillotomy using the fee codes. K02a and K02e are tonsillectomy.
The place of treatment is divided into three categories:
In order to compare the catchment areas and between years, the rates have been adjusted for gender and age. The adjustment was done using the direct method with the population in 2023 as the reference population.
SKDE is solely responsible for the interpretation and presentation of the data provided by NPR. FHI/NPR is not responsible for analyses or interpretations based on the data.
All of the data used in the charts for this analysis can be downloaded as a CSV file.
