Would you go through with a tonsillectomy for this kid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know this is a zombie thread, but I happened to read it and have a similar situation with my 3 year old. After a series of ear infections doctors say his tonsils are ginormous and almost touching. We do have sleep issues but it’s mostly that he wakes up and wants to sleep with us. He does snore and mouth breathe. Otherwise seems totally fine so we didn’t pursue surgery as necessary.

My mom is an OR nurse who has done the surgeries before and had it done as a child and she has urged us to do anything to avoid it. Says it’s a terrible surgery, painful, and so traumatic she still remembers everything about the day of her surgery 50+ years ago.

Is she just wildly exaggerating? How was recovery if your toddler had the surgery?

I remember mine, but it wasn't awful. I had a sore throat a couple of days. This was back in the 1960s. I did spend the night in the hospital and remember being a bit lonely. But I also remember the ice cream, lol.

Your mother is being over the top dramatic. I think I was 4 when I had mine out. It stopped me from being sick so much.

[Anonymous]

We did tonsills and adenoids out at 3 and it was seriously no big deal. I way over worried about it- interviewed docs/did research. He was fine on day 2 after the surgery.

[Anonymous]

Yes I would do it. If not, he’ll have to do it when he’s older and it much tougher than when he’s 4.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DO IT! I have very rotten tonsils and so does dh. I had strep nonstop and then the final nail in the coffin was mono in college. There is no recovery for my tonsils and now I'm too old to get them out.

Good friends of ours are both ENTs. They said that previously ENTs stopped doing tonsillectomies as much (in 90s/2000s/2010s), but they realized that the pendulum had swung too far. There is no benefit to having tonsils. They said that they see lots of cases with adults who have bad tonsils and there isn't much to be done for them.

I had enormous tonsils but was rarely sick as a child. After mono, I started to get sick all the time. I had strep over and over during college and graduate school. They were an absolute misery from that point on; finally an ENT in my 40s was like “Wow, why do you still have these???” I still had adenoids too. The surgery that kids bounce back from quickly is one of the most painful for adults. They tell you it will be 14 days of hell with oxy and they aren’t lying.

It was still worth it. But I really wish they’d come out when I was a kid!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We decided against it for my mild sleep apnea kid who at age 12 still does not sleep well. Honestly, it was the association with weight gain that really gave me pause. We may think it’s a useless organ, but the body is too dang complicated for me to do it unless there was an assured benefit.

Sleep apnea and snorting is also associated with weight gain.

[Anonymous]

Do it. This was my child at 4. We took the adenoids first thinking that would solve the snoring/apnea issues. It didn’t and we took the tonsils out the next year. Rough recovery, but worth it. Sleep is so important. The large tonsils and adenoids were also affecting my child’s speech.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sleep apnea is no joke. And lack of sleep messes with emotional regulation and can mimic adhd. That parent worries about unclear connections to weight gain is seriously fat-phobic. Your poor kid.

+1

Weight gain is actually heavily associated with sleep apnea. If your normal weight child has sleep apnea, imagine how it will be as an adult, when they are likely to be overweight at some point (because let’s be real, 70% of adults are overweight).

Sleep apnea causes a ton of health problems, including heart failure.

[Anonymous]

If your kid had/has apnea, how did you figure that out to ask for a sleep study? Was it just the snoring? My 4 year old DD snores a bit but seems to sleep well and I’m not aware of her waking in the night.

[Anonymous]

I had my tonsils and adenoids out at 12. I wish I had had them removed years earlier. Recovery took about a month. First thing I said when I woke up from surgery was "I can breathe." That's how dramatically my airway wad obstructed. I also had several near choking incidents due to the size of my tonsils.

[Anonymous]

Yes of course you should do it. Sleep apnea is serious and can inhibit growth and brain development. The surgery will be much easier for a younger kid too.

[Anonymous]

I would say do it, and also it's so much better to get it done while young. One of my co-workers just had to get hers out (she's mid 30s) and had like 3 weeks of recovery! When I got mine out in first grade, I think I had a long weekend off lol.

[Anonymous]

Yes. We did it when DD was in 2nd grade for sleep apnea and repeat strep infections and did not regret it. Her sleep improved measurably and ADHD-like mood and behavior symptoms resolved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:4 years old, snores lightly in his sleep and has for at least 2 years. A sleep study revealed “mild obstructive sleep apnea” - it showed him having 1-2 apnea events per hour (for a child, apparently even 1 is not normal). The ENT says his tonsils are a 3 on the size scale (which goes from 1-4). But he’s not getting sick a ton or anything. He’s never had strep in his life. We mostly investigated this because his dad his sleep apnea and I know snoring isn’t normal. He DOES have more tantrums/little outbursts than his sister did at this age (…possibly indicative of poor quality sleep?), but I don’t know that it’s anything way out of the norm - maybe like 3-4 meltdowns a week? I do definitely sometimes feel like he’s overtired.

The ENT at children’s says “I think he is a good candidate for this surgery; if it was my kid, I would have the surgery. But it’s up to you, I’m not pushing you into surgery.” We are really torn! I’m very hesitant to have any kind of surgery done on a 4 year old, for obvious reasons. But if it’s going to continue to be an issue, do we need to just go ahead and do it? Thoughts / advice very welcome - thanks

Which doctor do you have at Children's?

[Anonymous]

No. My grandfather was a doctor and did not recommend it.

[Anonymous]

Yes, it only gets worse.