Tonsillectomy

[Bramblespoint]

DD is having tonsils and adenoids out soon just looking for any useful advice?

How long does the surgery usually take.

How long until your DC felt ok to go out for example to do school run.

Some people have said their lo bounced back quickly others seem to have had lots of pain so I guess it varies widely. Will stock up on calpol and ibuprofen

Two of my DSs have had this operation. One at age 5 the other at age 3.

Both were really sore for 2 or 3 days and I did the advised routine of pain killers. I wound say by day 4 they were getting on with normal routines but still sore. Back to normal in 7 to 10 days. The operation made a huge difference to both

Our DD had adenotonsillectomy and grommets all done in the same surgery.

She was nil by mouth from midnight before the surgery, and that was probably the hardest part- how do you explain to a 3 year old that she can't eat or drink when she's not eaten out drunk for 12 hours?

The actual surgery was very quick - about 30-45 minutes. The recovery was awful when she woke from the general anaesthetic, but she everyday calmed down and was eating chocolate within the hour (Dr said literally whatever it takes to get her to eat, give it). The rest of the day are was groggy and ill tempered, but by the next day was running around and her usual self. Stuck with easy foods for a few days (mash potato etc) but she was fine.

Word of warning to the wise: after they gave her the valium to calm her before surgery, she was super groggy and upset. So we started talking about her birthday party and what she wanted. We promised everything on the notion that she wouldn't remember it after the general. We were wrong. She remembered everything. It was an expensive birthday party.

Thank you all really helpful.

Probably should have said DD is 5

Stock up on pain medicines beforehand, you’ll need to give them regularly for at least a week as it’s really important she eats and drinks.

5yo DS has his out in the summer. The operation was ok, but recovery was a bit rough. There are a couple of different types of tonsillectomy depending on the reason for removal and the surgeons preference. DS had recurrent infection so he had the most radical version where they take the whole of the tonsil tissue. He went home the same day as surgery but we had some problems with bleeding which meant we were back and forth for a while. Bleeding is an urgent issue though so, any blood means an a&e trip. We had two full weeks recovery and during that time we used the pushchair a bit for shopping etc as he was quite tired. It was an excellent decision for him though and we haven’t looked back

DD (4) had both out recently and did brilliantly. We were advised no contact with crowds / sick people for 2 weeks though - so you might need some help with the school run for other DC. Stock up on lots of crafts and things to do at home!

Pain Med wise we were discharged with more calpol, nurofen and morphine than I’d ever seen and told to stick to the strict regime so that she didn’t get sore and stop eating.

Doctors did say she could eat whatever she wanted whenever she wanted which DD fully embraced

Good luck, it’s worse for you than for them I think