Tonsillectomy??

[Mumonteaanddreamd]

We visited an ENT yesterday after a 12 month wait. My DS (6) has enlarged tonsils. They have been very large all his life. He has never had tonsillitis but he is a snorer, and he does mouth breath at times, which we think is linked to tonsils/adenoids.

ENT said he was in the 'grey area' and recommended he have them removed. He said it would give him a better quality of life. At the moment, DS can look tired and get quite moody but still plays sports and does well in school.

WWYD if you had to make a choice? Husband is against it but he has phobias of medical procedures in case something goes wrong.

Has your child had this procedure and did it make a difference? What was recovery like? (I had mine removed at 21 and pain was nearly as bad as to child birth).

Thanks in advance of any advice xx

My dd had them removed years ago, she was about 8 I think, it was as you would expect really! She stayed overnight I think, lots of fuss and Ice lollies and calpol when she got home . It was fine honestly .

I’d get them done while he’s younger. Kids bounce back really quickly. Especially if they do a co ablation procedure rather than a traditional tonsillectomy. The recovery is much quicker and less painful.

Also you’ve waited 6 months to see the ENT , surely that was for a reason? If it’s been recommended I would.

I had it done when I was 6. It massively improved my quality of life and the only thing I remember about it was the icecream. My stepdaughter had it done at 21 and the recovery looked awful! 😞
I’d do it sooner rather than later.

I suffered with tonsillitis a lot as a child and again in my teens and never met the criteria to have them out. Then in my late twenties, I had recurrent tonsillitis that became almost constant, one of my tonsils never went down in size, even when not infected and every viral illness ended in another bout of tonsillitis. Finally had tonsils and adenoids out at 30 and the recovery was horrible, much worse than it would have been as a child. But, it’s still one of the best decisions I ever made, to live without the worry of tonsillitis and long courses of antibiotics is such a relief. If you have been offered a tonsillectomy for your dc, please consider it now rather than them suffering later

DD had her tonsils and adenoids out at 4. Like your DS she never had tonsillitis but did snore and definitely had pauses in her breathing.

She used to get tired in the afternoons, we put it down to being 4… after the operation she had SO much more energy, turns out she’s naturally a little dynamo who doesn’t stop! The snoring stopped completely.

She also started eating better, had always been a good eater but didn’t really like meat or other protein that needed chewing - that all changed post op.

She had very little pain, we used painkillers as advised and she was back to normal very quickly. She had the newer “encapsulation” procedure where I think they don’t remove the last stub of the tonsil - I believe this is less painful and heals quicker.

So so so glad we had it done.

Thank you for all your reassurances. I feel it's the right thing to do. Will keep talking to my husband and show him your comments. It's the newer procedure they talked about so that might be more reassuring for him.

@minipieyes it’s called co-ablation. They just shave the tonsil and leave the capsule. Some kids done even need morphine afterwards. Although they all get it to go home with anyway.