Any medics from Eritrea here? What's this medical proceedure?

Question: I am a Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist. I saw a child for an initial assessment recently. She had been born in Eritrea but now lives in the UK. While I was taking the case history, her parents mentioned that she'd had surgery as a small child to prevent repeated throat infections. This involved removing something from her throat. The family knew what it was called in their home language but didn't know the English word for it. They said it's commonly done in Eritrea but not in the UK (in fact the girl's father said he'd also had it done). It definately wasn't a tonsilectomy or adenoidectomy. From their description, it sounded as though she might have had part of her uvula removed. I looked in her mouth and her uvula did look short. Does this sound possible to you?

[Note to non-medical people:- your Uvula is the dangly thing that hangs down in the back of your throat from the roof of your mouth - not what you think!]

Answers:
Uvulectomies appear to be fairly common in many parts of Africa. The procedure is believed to combat throat infections and reduce a perceived risk of suffocation.

Other Answers:
I always thought that patient notes and comments on their medical history was confidential. Unless you are the patient, i or my family would not like to be seen by you, you would disclose any treatment given.

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