HELP! Adenoids and/or Tonsils -removal.

christy1009

My son just turned 4 yesterday. We are meeting with his ENT tomorrow.  He's had tubes for both ears twice- he basically has T tubes now and is doing well with his ears. That being said, he's had strep four times in the last year along with several negative strep tests that were still throat infections. He had croup once this year as well. His pediatrician said his tonsils are HUGE and that she recommends we consult with his ENT.  Here we are -we are going tomorrow to discuss, but I just found out that his ENT does not remove tonsils...he only does adenoids, which I find unusual from an ENT.

Anyways, the reason I am writing is to see if anyone here had tonsils and/or adenoids removed from their LO? How old were they? How was recovery?  How are they now with illnesses?  What was the basis for doing the surgery (ie -number of colds, etc...)? 

I've been doing research on both but I also was debating on waiting until he has his tubes removed to avoid anesthesia more than once ;( 

blu-eyedwife

My son (2) still has his tonsils, but I expect he'll be a candidate for early removal.  But I'm chiming in to tell you about my personal experience.

By 7 years old I had Strep throat so often, I knew exactly when it'd hit.  I'd tell my mom "I have strep throat again" because it felt like I'd swallowed those bangle bracelets we'd use to wear.  I got it multiple times a year (not sure exactly how often).  My brother and I got our tonsils out at the same time (my parents did a lot of things like that - his weren't as bad as mine in terms of getting sick as often) and he was 4/5.

I honestly don't remember recovery being bad.  I know my mom says it was really hard on her, because she was dealing with both of us and I was a bit of a drama queen, but it obviously left no painful scars or memories.

And as far as illness, it certainly cut it down.  I haven't had strep throat since I was 7 years old (and I'm much older than that now).  I would get a sinus infection every year/every other year, but that was pretty much it.

Caseyk1127

DS had adenoids at 11 months (tubes at 4 and 11 months). Recovery is the same as tubes ... No big deal. He had his due to sinus infections and hasn't had one since. He'll probably have tonsils removed because they are huge and he snores bad ... But has never had strep.

PunkyBooster

Well not what you asked but I had my adenoids and tonsils removed at the age of 4 years, 3 months. My mom said by dinner I was swinging from the top of the hospital bed like they were monkey bars so I think that means I bounced back pretty fast!

My surgery reason is irrelevant here...I lost my hearing on my 4th bday and this surgery was part of all the exploration they were doing.

GL!!

Assembly_Reqd

I have never heard of surgery being needed to remove ear tubes. Don't they just fall out or stay put?

JoJoGee

My 2.5 Y.O. DD has had her tonsils and adenoids removed this summer.  She had them removed in preparation for another surgery she is having.  My daughter has multiple medical problems - one of them being a trach.  She's going to have reconstructive surgery on her trachea in a couple weeks.  To increase the odds of that surgery being a success, she had her tonsils and adenoids removed.  Some things we were told to watch out for after surgery.

• Dehydration.  My daughter has a G-tube, so this wasn't as big of an issue with us.  But, it can be.  In fact, our local children's hospital keeps T&A kids for one night after surgery, just to make sure they don't dehydrate.
• Stinking Breath.  It's not too bad at first.  But, when the scabs start coming off, their breath can really stink.  It's normal.
• Eating.  It hurt my daughter to eat for several weeks after surgery.  Of course, with my daughter's G-tube, this wasn't a huge issue.  I have also heard of children who, immediately after surgery, scarf down an entire pizza.  But, just so you are aware.
•  Recovery can take up to 2 weeks.

Anyway, that is all I have to offer.  Sorry I can't answer all your questions.  But, I hope this helped some!

kcisthebombdotcom

My dd has her adenoids removed and tubes. Prior she was sick a lot with sinus infections/colds, not talking a whole bunch, and failed multiple hearing tests due to fluid. She had a longer recovery then most--about ten days. She was fine during the day but she had a really challenging time sleeping at night. A lot of it was tummy aches--she was anxious to eat anything solid after the second day so the pain medication on mostly an empty stomach was tough. After the initial window she's doing great. She hasn't been sick in nearly two months when she was getting two colds a month, many which turned into sinus infections. Her language comprehension/use is really taking off as well.