Tonsillectomies should not be taken lightly, reports Harvard Health Publishing.

Why the drop? Well, complications are common. In fact, one in five children who have a tonsillectomy has a complication. The most common is breathing difficulty, which can affect one in 10. Bleeding affects one in 20, and can happen days after the surgery, after a child has gone home. While the complications are treatable and death is very rare, it’s clearly an operation that should only be done when truly necessary.