anyone had a BABY thats had adenoids and tonsils out?

[mad4myboys]

My 14 month old ds2 is having his out in a few weeks. Can only really find much about it in older/school age kids. Has anyone been through this with a baby? What is the recovery like?

[harimosmummy]

I'm really surprised that they are doing this under the age of 3.

my DS suffers from tonsilitis pretty uch every month and ends up on ABs ever 2 months.

But even his Paed (who is far from an Earth father sort of chap!) wouldn't recommend tonsils being taken out before 3YO.

I really think you should be asking why this is being recommmended and also what the downsides are. Tonsils are said to protect against lots of other illnesses.

And (FWIW) my Paed is from The Portland so it's not like any op is being put off because of costs (we are private)

I would really question this. AFAIK, tonsilectomies (SP??) are not recommended under 3YO.

HTH x

[BooHooo]

Goodness that is young.

DD suffers with her tonsils and our Paed. has always said to us they need more than 4 bouts a year and absence from school/ inteference to education before they remove. She is 3.

What reasons have they given you for a Tonsilecomy?

[harimosmummy]

My DS is 20 Mo old BTW

Agree with what BooHoo has written

[Aniyan]

My ds had his tonsils and adenoids out at 20 months as he was suffering from sleep apnoea as well as constant bad throats/snoring at night. It was the sleep apnoea that was worrying & why we decided to go ahead with the op. We were also told that his growth might be affected if we held off as his breathing was being affected so badly at night.

It was horrible holding him while they anaesthetised him & letting him go off with the surgical team - I sobbed all over a lovely nurse - but he was in and out in no time.

He was a bit distressed coming round from the anaesthetic (I held him in my arms on the bed while they wheeled us both back up to the ward!), but he soon calmed down and as far as I remember (nearly 9 years ago now) his recovery went really smoothly - and his breathing has been absolutely fine ever since. He also had a huge growth spurt straight after the op.

I have no regrets at all - it was a tricky decision but I'm convinced it was the right one.

Hope all goes well for you with your ds.

[norksinmywaistband]

Ds had his adenoids and grommets done at 28 months but even though he was going under GA and he has problem tonsils they did not take them out.
They are reviewing him in August with view to removal before he starts school in Sept.

Agree this seems very early unless he has severe apnoea rather than infective issues

[mad4myboys]

sorry fot lateness, this IS because of sleep apnea which he has had since birth. He is also severely bunged up, full of mucus, he rattles and coughs because of it (enlarged adenoids) and allergies etc been ruled out. He waks about 6-7 times a night crying because he has either stopped breathing or he is bunged up so severely or his snoring is hurting him

[norksinmywaistband]

Well I know my DS was a bit older, but as long as their obs( blood pressure, oxygen levels and they have weed) are ok they are DC same day round here.
Op was only 20 mins and we waited on the ward and were taken down to him in post op and were there as he came round.
He was anethetised with an injection whilst n my arms then I laid him on the theatre bed.

It is distressing but he recovered really well, he did not have the tonsils done though as I said in earlier post

Hope all goes well for you and DS

[Aniyan]

Meant to say, my ds was discharged the same day too.

He had to eat, drink, and have a pee before they'd let him go home though.

He was anaesthetised with gas through a mask. They held the mask near his face, not right on it and he went out like a light. I got a whiff of it too as I was sitting holding him so I was a bit woozy myself for a few seconds!

Then they hustled me out of the room and he was back in the recovery room in no time - not more than 30 mins at the most.

Hopefully the op will work as well for your ds as it did for mine.

[Elibean]

Hi Mad4, have read your post with a mix of sadness and relief - your ds has sounded so similar to my dd2 in so many ways, with any luck he will have the same level of relief from the op.

Having tonsils and adenoids out for severe apnoea is completely different to having them out for recurring infection. When we discussed dd's combo of large tonsils/adenoids plus laryngomalacia with the ENT consultant, he said they would operate from 12 months if needs be.

dd2 was 25 months old, so older than your ds but had the extra complications which necessitated an HDU bed for one night. The hardest part for her pre-op was not having a drink (she couldn't eat much in the way of solids by then anyway, but was desperate for milk). She was asleep when they put her under, so I never went through that, but she did wake up a bit wild and crying which I found hard (she obviously didn't remember it).

Pain levels after vary hugely, lots of others were going through it here on MN at the same time as us - so one experience won't tell you much. dd had a hard time for the first week, and we didn't let up on pain relief - its really important to stay on top of it, giving it a tad before you're 'meant' to so it never fully wears off. Biggest tip: ask for paracetamol and/or voltarol suppositories if ds is refusing to swallow meds. Its not easy with such a young one, and supps. saved our bacon! Our GP gave us a prescription for more when we ran low.

Oh, dd2 ran a temp of 38.5 the second night (first one at home) which freaked me out - we rang the consultant, who said its not unusual for young kids to react with some fever for the first day or two, but to take her in if it stayed up or got worse in case of infection. It was good to know fever can be normal for a short time.

Lots of DVDs, books, small toys, snacks and clean tops for you and him (in case he throws up on waking)...and ice lollies galore (esp. when they won't drink). They advise rough foods when they come round from the op, promotes healing, and true enough dd ate toast and crisps (!) in hospital...but her pain was worse a few days later, when it started to heal, and then it was nothing but ice lollies for a couple of days. She got horribly thin, but everyone kept reassuring me it was temporary and of course, it was!

Best of all, the apnoea was gone instantly - and although she still has a stuffy nose very easily, and snores, its no longer worrying and she rarely wakes up. Loads of luck, will be thinking of you.

[mad4myboys]

aah thanks elibean. Really cant wait for him to have it done now. although abit worried of course. He has had 3 GA now so i know the score on that although i know each time can differ. Worried about afterwards more really!