Feldman ENT group-Which doc would you use for tonsil and adenoid removal:

[Anonymous]

My 4 year old son has to have both his tonsils and adenoids rmoved. I need help picking a doc!

Bruce Feldman
Jerome Schwartz
Mark Dettlebach
Jack Williams

I have seen Feldman thought he was just OK, but have heard LOTS of great things about him. Also want to get in sooner, than his schedule will allow
Have seen Schwartz, also just OK
I liked Dettlebach alot but don't see him mentioned as much.

And my pediatrician highly recommends Dr Jack Williams, but we have never met him.
Help, I want to make the right decision.
Thanks so much!

[Anonymous]

Schwartz did DD's adenoids and tonsils three weeks ago. We thought he was fabulous. I have heard great things about Dettlebach as well.

[Anonymous]

PP here. you can email me if you have questions - [e-mail]

[Anonymous]

We consulted with Dettlebach and our dentist recommended him.

We are actually going to another practice because of scheduling issues. But I'd love to hear from parents who have been through this how you prepared your child (ours is 4.5) and what the recovery was like.

[Anonymous]

I am the 15:54 poster. Our DC is 3.5 and had her adenoids and tonsils out last month because of breathing issues.

For prep:

A week or two before the surgery, we started to talk to her very matter of factly that that she was going to have an operation to have her tonsils out. I didn't bother to talk about adenoids, because the tonsils were the bigger deal. I went to the library and took out "goodbye tonsils" and "franklin goes to the hospital" we bought the Curious George hospital book. The GB tonsils book was a bit long for her, but very good. She loved the Franklin book - I didn't, because it implied the Franklin has a reason to be brave (and therefore scared), which I thought was too suggetive. But the Franklin book was very helpful as to what would go on at the hosptial. he George book was ok. We read the books and talked about how her operation would be the same or different. We got our hands on a medical mask, and showed it to her and let her play with it for a couple of nights before. We talked about how it might hurt after, how they'd be giving her medicine to sleep, and that she'd be asleep during the operation. She did great, except waking up the morning of the surgery at 5:30 to say "i need to eat." Not her normal word choices for when she's hungry, so I think she realized fromt he Franklin book she wouldn't be able to eat for awhile.

We gave her a new toy on the ride to the hospital and took her comfort items. They gave her a mild sedative to relax her, and we got her into surgery no problem. She was in surgery for less than an hour. She woke up hysterical from the anesthesia, which we expect. DR. says all kids under 16 do that.

Once calmed down, we headed home. Her surgery started just before 8am and we were home by noon. She said she was hungry 4 hours later, and that was the end of that. No complaints that anything hurt. We only gave her tylenol with codeine once and then decided she didn't need it. She had the coblation surgery for the tonsils, which is radio frequency, not heat, so the healing process was much quicker. The doctor told us that the coblation is much easier on the kids for recovery than the old heat method. If you aren't using the Feldman group, I'd recommend making sure the tonsilectomy is beind done by COBLATION.

Again, if you have questions, I am happy to answer by email.

[Anonymous]

I can't speak for tonsil and adenoid but Jack Williams did my son's ear tube surgery and we loved him! He is conservative, realistic, friendly, great with kids, and the results of my son's surgery were what we expected. I would highly recommend him.

[Anonymous]

We just saw Dettlebach and really liked him. He was good with 12-mth DS and answered all of our many questions re: ear tubes. We're scheduled with him to have tubes put in later this month. I'd definitely recommend him, although to be honest, it was a quick visit and it seemed like it was very routine. I guess that's good that he didn't make me think this was something complicated or uncommon.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks for all the replies. DCUM is an amazing resource. It sounds like they are all good.....but if you have any more advice...I'm still listening!

[Anonymous]

We used Williams for my daughter's tubes last Spring and loved him. He was great with her and us. I liked how he explained everything and held true to how long it would take, how she would feel etc. Highly rec.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so so much for the information re: coblation. I had NO idea that there were different techniques. We are scheduled with a practice that uses the electrocautery technique. I'm going to call the Feldman group tomorrow and find out more.

Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know where they operate? (hospital, surgical center, etc.)

[Anonymous]

I am the Op, have scheduled the surgery with Dettlebach, and it he does the procedure in a surgical center in Bethesda. For younger kids, it might be in a hospital.

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP using Dettlebach for ear tube surgery - we're scheduled at River Road Surgery Center in bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Jack Williams was great with my 30-year-old kid (aka my husband) who had surgery last year for sleep apnea. I work in clinical research and he did a really good job of explaining things and laying out the risks vs. benefits of different options, in a way that my husband could understand.