Randomized Clinical Trial for Tonsil Surgery in Adults With Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Enlarged Tonsils
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Turku University Hospital
- Where
- Helsinki, Oulu, Tampere, and Turku, FinlandSee the 4 sites
- Trial code
- Status
- Not yet recruiting
- People taking part
- 132 people, planned
- Started
- 1 Oct 2026
- Expected to end
- 1 Jan 2036
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- Tonsillectomy
- Tonsillotomy
- Record updated
- 3 June 2026
Who can take part
- Age
- 18 years to 65 years
- Sex
- Women and men
- Healthy volunteers
- Cannot take part
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 9 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- BMI < 35
- Tonsil size 2 - 4
- Otherwise healthy patient fit for tonsil surgery
- Apnea-hypopnea index > 15
- Obstructive sleep apnea symptoms
Who cannot take part
- Other surgical treatment for OSA
- Neurological condition with muscular hypotonia
- Pathological hemostasis or use of anticoagulation
- Craniofacial deformities
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 65 years old?
Where in Finland
- Helsinki University HospitalHelsinki, FinlandContact: Johanna Ruohoalho, MD, PhDNo longer taking part
- Oulu University HospitalOulu, FinlandContact: Aleksi Laajala, MDNo longer taking part
- Tampere University HospitalTampere, FinlandContact: Saara Markkanen, MD, PhDNo longer taking part
- Turku University HospitalTurku, FinlandContact: Henrik M Sjöblom, MDNo longer taking part
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
The aim is to investigate whether the tissue-preserving tonsil surgery technique is as effective as complete tonsil removal in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. The primary outcome measure is the change in the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) before surgery and at 4-6, 24, and 60 months after surgery.
The 2 groups in the trial
- TonsillectomyExisting treatment, for comparison
TE will be performed by dissection in the peritonsillar plane. Parts of the upper and lateral palatal mucosal arches will be incised, and an extracapsular dissection for complete tonsil excision will be performed. The surgical instrumentation (eg. cold steel, monopolar diathermy with a pen electrode, bipolar scissors, coblation technique or a microdebrider) is selected by the surgeon.
- TonsillotomyExisting treatment, for comparison
TT will be performed by removing approximately 60 - 90% of the tonsillar tissue, leaving a rim of tonsillar tissue on the tonsillar fossae. The tonsil capsule will not be breached. The surgical instrumentation (eg. cold steel, monopolar diathermy with a pen electrode, bipolar scissors, coblation technique or a microdebrider) is selected by the surgeon.
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Multicenter, National, Randomized, Patient-Blinded, Parallel Group, Non-Inferiority Trial To Compare Tonsillotomy Versus Extracapsular Tonsillectomy in Adults With Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Tonsil Hypertrophy: The TONOS Trial.
- Fit questions
- Built from NCT07580170, who can take part
- Record updated
- 3 June 2026