History Main / TheTonsillitisEpisode

** [[ButtMonkey Eugene]] got one by accident in "Eugene's Bike", though he was fine by it as they're an unnecessary pair of organs. He just wished the doctors left his spleen in, though.

It used to be very common, since it is usually something that's temporary and doesn't have to make the character into an [[IllGirl Ill Kid]] for the rest of the season, people usually recover within a week or two. However, it has become something of a ForgottenTrope because since the late 1990s tonsillectomies are done much less frequently than they were in the past, and their effectiveness is debated. Nowadays, wisdom teeth removal is often used in its place. The main difference is that characters getting their wisdom teeth removed tend to be older and there's often more gags about characters acting weird while under anesthesia. This is because wisdom teeth removal is an outpatient procedure, meaning patients can return home before the anesthesia has worn off.

It used to be very common, since it is usually something that's temporary and doesn't have to make the character into an [[IllGirl Ill Kid]] for the rest of the season, people usually recover within a week or two. However, it has become something of a ForgottenTrope because since the late 1990s tonsillectomies are done much less frequently than they were in the past, and their effectiveness is debated. Nowadays, wisdom teeth removal is often used in its place.

This is a one-episode medical condition that seems to be prevalent in kids' shows. As such, it is played less for drama, and falls more into the category of VerySpecialEpisode. The basic formula for such an episode is thus:

SubTrope of SickEpisode. Compare to TheDentistEpisode. Something of a ForgottenTrope because since the late 1990s tonsillectomies are done much less frequently than they were in the past, and their effectiveness is debated. Nowadays wisdom teeth removal is often used in its place.

* Referenced in ''WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC'': [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} Rorschach]] and {{Deadpool}} visit a guy in the hospital after Deadpool shot him. Deadpool talks like a soothing parent and utters the ice cream line.

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' episode "No Place Like Home" had Susie Carmichael suffering from tonsillitis and slipping into an [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Oz-esque]] dream world.

# The character angsts about having to have surgery, but is reassured by his/her loved ones and promised -- and this is important -- '''"All the Ice Cream You Can Eat."'''

# The operation goes off without a hitch. Whether loved ones actually come through with the ice cream is optional.

* Played straight in ''WesternAnimation/TheBusyWorldOfRichardScarry''. Huckle even got his ice cream, too. Although he couldn't eat it.

** The episode titled "Gerald's Tonsils". It was also created [[WrittenInInfirmity around the time his voice actor hit puberty]], and rather than replace him with another boy (or a [[CrossDressingVoices woman]]), they used tonsillitis to explain the deeper voice.

* First episode of ''WesternAnimation/GravedaleHigh'' (a show about an AllGhoulsSchool) has Sid the Invisible Kid going to the hospital as he has Tonsillitis. Smart idea from the writers considering that, as an invisible kid, his anatomy is the most human-like of the monster character other than been invisible. Also because a Hospital is perfect for making jokes about the different kids' monster nature (a vampire that go to the blood bank, a mummy with new bandages, a zombie girl mistaken as a very sick patient, etc).

* Referenced in ''ImAMarvelAndImADC'': [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} Rorschach]] and {{Deadpool}} visit a guy in the hospital after Deadpool shot him. Deadpool talks like a soothing parent and utters the ice cream line.

* In the ''Series/{{AdventuresInWonderland}} episode "Take My Tonsils... Please!" the Mad Hatter has his tonsils removed. This is an odd episode, as much of it takes place in a realistic hospital without any of the usual Wonderland wackiness, though by the end it reverts to the standard hijinks as the still hoarse-voiced Hatter tries to replace himself with an identical robot to host a TV show.

SubTrope of SickEpisode. Something of a ForgottenTrope because since the late 1990s tonsillectomies are done much less frequently than they were in the past, and their effectiveness is debated. Nowadays wisdom teeth removal is often used in its place.

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* Even the Fonz caught a case of tonsillitis in the ''Series/HappyDays'' episode (with the IncrediblyLamePun), "Fonsillectomy."
** What makes that episode all the more jarring is the series Continuity Error. The Tonsil Episode takes place during Halloween, and the previous Halloween special (about Richie not wanting to date a tall girl, and getting advice about honesty from the Fonz) included a story about how when Fonz had to get his tonsils removed AS A CHILD, his Mom tried to pretend they were going someplace fun, but eventually admitted they were going to the hospital because Fonzie was getting suspicious. Not once does this episode mention that Fonz had already had that operation, nor do they include a HandWave statement about tonsils growing back. It is simply treated as if it were the first major surgery the Fonz had ever endured.

* ''{{Series/Emergency}}'' has one of the variant ones. Roy had his tonsils out as a kid, but his throat is getting sore a lot. After a lot of denial, one of the doctors confirms they grew back and he'll need another surgery. Johnny brings him a big milkshake at the end of the ep. The trouble is that he's in a room with Chet, who broke his shoulder, and won't shut up.

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* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' episode "No Place Like Home" had Susie Carmichael suffering from tonsillitis and slipping into an [[Film/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz Oz-esque]] dream world.
* ''{{WesternAnimation/Little Bill}}'' had one of these, as did ''WesternAnimation/FatAlbertAndTheCosbyKids''.

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* Creator/BillCosby had a routine where he was going to have his tonsils taken out, and after seeing an anesthetized kid, he thought the kid had died and "All the ice cream you can eat" was a [[NeverSayDie euphemism]] for death.

* Happened in ''{{Madeline}}''.

* Played with in the ''{{WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks}}'' episode "Operation Theodore". A little boy at the hospital where Brittany is volunteering at is afraid of having the surgery and disappears, and Brittany has Theodore hide in the boy's bed so that the nurse won't find out that he escaped. Theodore ends up being mistaken for the actual patient and is taken out to be prepared for surgery. Alvin, Simon, and the Chippettes have to track down the missing boy and keep Theodore from having the operation.

* Jughead from ''{{Archie}}'' Comics had one. It got weird.

* In ''Film/TheLittleRascals'' short "Men in Fright", Darla has just had her tonsils taken out, and Alfalfa is tricked by another boy into taking his place. Alfalfa doesn't know that the other boy is scheduled for a tonsillectomy, too.

* A major episode in (the novel, not [[TheFilmOfTheBook the movie]]) ''CheaperByTheDozen'' involves several of the children getting their tonsils taken out. Only the dentist mislabels one of the tonsil X-rays, [[HilarityEnsues and so one of the girls who thought she didn't have to get hers out is dragged to the dentist]]. In a separate, but closely related incident, Dad decides to get his taken out and have it filmed. The operation goes off smoothly, but the cameraman made a mistake and none of it recorded.

* Happened in the episode of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' titled "Gerald's Tonsils". It was also created [[WrittenInInfirmity around the time his voice actor hit puberty]], and rather than replace him with another boy (or a [[CrossDressingVoices woman]]), they used tonsillitis to explain the deeper voice.
** [[ButtMonkey Eugene]] also got one by accident in "Eugene's Bike", though he was fine by it as they're an unnecessary pair of organs. He just wished the doctors left his spleen in, though.
* This was also used with Isabella in the ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' episode "I Scream, You Scream".
* A ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' episode had Susie Carmichael suffering from tonsillitis and slipping into an Oz-esque dream world.

* May have happened in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}''.

* Molly in the ''Generation O!'' episode "Devatated Tonsils". After getting them removed she is too scared to use her voice for fear it has changed for the worse and she is no longer able to sing.

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* [[TruthInTelevision Happens to kids in]] RealLife, though some end up disappointed when no ice cream is brought.
** In the sixties and seventies, it was almost a rite of passage, as almost every problem with the ear or throat was treated with a tonsilectomy.

** [[ButtMonkey Eugene]] also got one by accident in "Eugene's Bike", though he was fine by it as they're an unnecessary pair of organs. He just wished the doctors left his appendix in, though.

* Played straight in ''WesternAnimation/TheBusyWorldOfRichardScarry''. I think the patient even got his ice cream, too.