Anyone deal with adenoidectomy (adenoids removal)?

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amother

Violet

Wed, May 27 2015, 5:02 pm

Please share your experiences!
What was the reason for the adenoids removal? How many days did your child have to stay home from school? Did you try anything else before resorting to surgery? Was your child's throat sore, and did he have a hard time talking during the recovery?

DS (almost 6) is scheduled for a surgery due to a chronic infection. His nose clogs with mucus throughout the winter and tends to clear up during the spring and summer. The ENT says he will be much more comfortable after the procedure.

However, I'm having second thoughts about going ahead with the procedure. Is it possible for him to outgrow it? Are there any alternative, natural treatments that may help? We've dealt with this for such a long time already, that I don't think there's any rush to do the surgery yet, and am considering postponing the surgery until October, which is the next available date. (We've dealt with this for at least two years- waited few months to get appointment at ENT, then had appointment in summer but ENT couldn't see anything since it had cleared up, scheduled another appointment, was diagnosed with chronic infection and prescribed antibiotics.... Finally had appointment in February and scheduled for surgery in two weeks from now...) Besides the fact that now happens to not be such a convenient time, it will give me time to reconsider and/or try other options.

So, please share what I can expect, tips, alternative methods to surgery, complications or successful experiences, and anything else you may know about this. TIA!

Anonymous due to discussing this IRL.

harriet

Wed, May 27 2015, 5:34 pm

Adenoidectomy alone (without tonsil removal) is not a big deal my son had it done when he was about 8-9 years old. On the way home from the hospital he asked to be dropped off at school. I said no but did let him go back the next day. So he missed one day of school (for frame of reference, my son that had his tonsils out missed more than a week

Leahh

Wed, May 27 2015, 6:58 pm

My son had his tonsils and adenoids removed on a Monday. By Friday he went back to day camp. He was ready earlier but I made him wait.
I can't tell you how your son will be because every child is different but I have no regrets doing the surgery. Recovery wasn't all that bad and the long term effects were most definitely worth it!

Rodent

Wed, May 27 2015, 7:53 pm

2 of my kids have had adenoids (plus grommets/tubes). Both due to repeated grommets (standard if 1st set come out and problem recurs), one also had infections. It was virtually a non event, no pain, no problems. They were under school age but if they'd have been at school I'd have kept them home the day after (to recover from anaesthetic) and then sent them though we were probably recommended a week. They were seriously fine.
No regrests, we've had no problems since with either of them.

rise above

Wed, May 27 2015, 8:12 pm

harriet wrote:

Same experience here with a 7 year old.

manhattanmom

Wed, May 27 2015, 8:48 pm

In school the next day right on time too! If it helps, I haven't ever spoken to/met anyone who has ever regretted having a generally easy quality of life-type procedure done for their kids--adenoids/tubes in the ears, etc. literally no recovery time at all and you'll notice an IMMEDIATE difference.

chilax

Wed, May 27 2015, 9:21 pm

My son just had his removed due to sleep apnea and we're seeing a major improvement b"h

amother

Jade

Wed, May 27 2015, 9:28 pm

It literally saved my son! He became a different person, I would do it for any child. Yes I was nervous before ,but it was a very quick procedure.
Please don't push it off ,especially that the weather is warm now , it's supposed be better for the healing.
My son was perfectly fine by the time we got home from the hospital.

amother

Violet

Wed, May 27 2015, 9:29 pm

Thanks for the responses. I see everyone is commenting that they've noticed a difference, and never regretted it. Yet, I feel that there is really nothing major that will change. He has a little mucus coming out of his nose a few months a year, and it doesn't seem to bother him. Is it worth the pain, time, and hassle, and (admittedly, rare) side effects?

chilax

Wed, May 27 2015, 9:44 pm

If your unsure if this surgery is necessary, you should definitely seek a second opinion. The first ENT I went to (for sleep apnea) wanted to remove both adenoids and tonsils, and the second (which I ended up using) ended up doing only his adenoids
At first he tried to avoid the surgery altogether by trying a spray first (which didn't help)

amother

Violet

Wed, May 27 2015, 10:58 pm

Thanks, everyone! I would still love to hear more....
In the meantime, I think I will reschedule for October, but would like to go for a second opinion. How would I go about that? When I call the ENT to reschedule, do I ask them for his file since I'd like to go for a second opinion? Would they give me a hard time about that? What are my rights? Should I just go to the second doctor and explain the situation without his medical records (even though the second ENT will most likely not be able to observe the symptoms since his nose cleared up)?

amother

Lawngreen

Wed, May 27 2015, 11:09 pm

Just did it right before PESACH. My son felt great right afterwards. He had chronic sniffeling and we tried every nose spray out there. He still sniffles but not as bad.

Wed, May 27 2015, 11:37 pm

You have a right to get a second opinion, and I would run away from any medical office that would refuse to give you his file.

FranticFrummie

Thu, May 28 2015, 12:40 am

DD had tonsils and adenoids out, and ear tubes put in when she was 6. Her doctor said she had the biggest tonsils he's seen in 15 years of practice, and was amazed that she could breathe at night. We'd been battling strep for a year and a half at that point, so the surgery was an obvious choice for us.

The hardest part was making her rest after the surgery! She immediately wanted to go out and play hard, and I had to force her to stay in and watch videos for the next day. She also wanted to eat corn chips, so I called the doctor and he said that it was fine. They don't insist on soft foods anymore.

She only needed the pain meds for the first 12 hours, and then she said that she didn't want them anymore.

The improvement in her health, behavior, and attitude after the surgery was unbelievable. It's like I got a whole new kid!

amother

Mauve

Thu, May 28 2015, 8:40 am

My ds had tonsils and adanoids removed at age 4. They were both enlarged and caused sleeping and breathing problems. ( the ent was able to see the adanoids by looking with his eyes) I was told to feed him only soft foods for a week. I made the decision to keep him home for the week, since it wasnt fair to make his teacher watch him like a hawk by lunch and snack time. My ds did feel better in 2 days and by the time the week was up all of his previous problems disappeared

amother

Orchid

Thu, May 28 2015, 8:57 am

I'm a little confused about what you mean by observing the symptoms. If the adenoids are enlarged, they're enlarged whether or not there's a sinus infection at the moment. You can go for a second opinion, if infection is the only issue, nasal spray could help. Our ENT had us use spray for two months before ultimately going for the surgery. The spray didn't work, but he wanted to be sure of that before operating.
DS was two at the time of the surgery and had chronic sinus infections, sleep issues due to the blockage, and drooled a lot (from always mouth breathing) and also had speech issues. All of these improved within a month of the surgery. Recovery was easy- he only needed a bit of motrin the day of, the next day, you never would have guessed he just had surgery. The worst side effect was super stinky breath for a week, which the doctor had warned us about.
DS also has enlarged tonsils, and the doctor wasn't sure whether to remove them and made it a game day decision. He left them in. Enlarged tonsils are not in and of themselves a problem and the procedure for tonsils is more painful and longer recovery. He felt they were large but not causing issues (unlike the adenoids), so they stayed. What I really loved about the doctor was that he really cared about The specific situation and that's why he first tried an alternative to surgery and then when surgery had to happen, he did only as much as he felt needed to be done and nothing extra just cause he could. You sound like you don't love the ent and are not confident that he's taking your child's best interest into account. Look for someone you will trust. Though it is better to get the surgery done sooner (assuming it's necessary) it's not exactly time sensitive, so you can find a different doctor. If you are in NY, we used DR Rickert.

amother

Violet

Thu, May 28 2015, 9:34 am

amother wrote:

Your post was very helpful! IIRC, DS' adenoids are not enlarged, only infected. I used Dr. Goldsmith, and was considering going to Dr. Rickert for the second opinion, so I really appreciate your feedback. It's not that I don't trust Dr. Goldsmith. I believe that surgery will resolve the issue, but I'm unsure if it's necessary. It's obviously financially beneficial to Dr. Goldsmith to do the surgery, so I would just like to make sure it;s to my son's best interest. BTW, I was not told to try a nasal spray.

chilax

Thu, May 28 2015, 9:41 am

I second dr Rickert
I used him too and was extremely happy

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