Tonsil guillotine, Mathieu, steel, plated, by Brady and Martin of Newcastle, 1879-1900, in leather case

A tonsil guillotine is used to remove the tonsils in a procedure called tonsillectomy. Removing the tonsils was a treatment for recurrent throat infections. Tonsillectomy by guillotine, popular from the 1870s onwards, gradually fell out of favour in the twentieth century although the technique still remains in use today. Mathieu was a surgical instrument maker based in France. This example was made by Brady & Martin, a surgical instrument maker based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.