Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy

Let me first warn you, that this is a personal story. It is about my son and it is my rant to get all of this off my mind. Everyone has different experiences with things and I just felt that I needed to explain mine. I enjoy reading others experiences and they have helped me, so I am putting this out there in case someone needs the reference. As parents, we learn as we go, and sharing with others should be a requirement so not all of us are caught off guard.

My son is due to have his tonsils and adenoids removed in less than a week. He is seven years old and has some history of strep throat, but the surgery is being done mainly for his very large tonsils and snoring and sleep issues. Now, the logical side of me knows that this is common surgery and that many people have had it, but the mothering side of me hates that her baby has to have surgery!

My being worried about the surgery could be because I feel like I am in a whirlwind and it is happening so fast. My son just had a bout of strep throat that was diagnosed on July 9^th. The doctor ran the strep test, which came back positive, and when she returned with the prescription for Amoxicillin she also brought a referral to ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist). The appointment was scheduled for July 19^th, giving us just enough time to finish up the 10 day antibiotic. She referred us due to his enlarged tonsils that we have gone back and forth about since he was an infant. The amusing part was that she did not even discuss it with me this time, she just had the referral ready, but I did not argue.

On July 19^th, the day after he finished up his antibiotics, we go to the ENT clinic. Now, we have not been seen in this clinic before and I do not know what to expect. We did not wait long, and when we got called back a nurse took his height, weight, and temperature. The nurse mentioned that he had a slight fever, and I thought great, maybe the antibiotic did not get rid of the strep throat. Anyway, we get placed in a room, and the wait begins. After about 15 min (not bad really), a nurse practitioner comes in to talk to us. She asks why we were referred (even though it's on the referral right in front of her) and starts her exam. She tells me that there is a lot of fluid on his ears and when she gets to the tonsils, she is shocked and told my son that they call those 'Whoppers' and they have to go. My son thought this was kind of funny. So, I ask her about the fluid, and told her that the nurse said he had a slight fever. She said there was not infection in his ears, so I asked if maybe the strep had not cleared up and could they test him. I was told, 'we don't do that here'. Really, in an ENT clinic you do not check throats? She has to report her findings back to the doctor, and then he would come in to discuss the treatment plan with us.

So, the doctor comes in, and I am not initially impressed. He comes in with his 'game plan' in mind, but when he sees my son he just stops and asks, "How old are you"? My son tells him that he is seven, and the speech begins. He gives me this long spiel about how children with large tonsils typically do not get adequate protein because they do not eat the right foods, and they do not rest appropriately so this affects their growth and results in small stature. WHAT? Did this man really just try to come in here and act like I've been malnourishing my child for seven years?! Let's just say I was a little ticked! I informed him that it could very well be genetics. My son has always been in the 5^th percentile and my daughter runs in the 10^th percentile, and he eats just fine! So, come to find out, he's telling me all of this to prepare me for his next statement which is that it may not be day surgery and they may keep him overnight. He stated that small stature children typically are required to stay overnight. When I questioned the reasoning behind it, he stated that it was due to the Anesthesia. Now I know that Anesthesia can have different results each time, but an overnight stay? The doctor explained that it would be a deeper anesthesia than he had previously and he would be intubated. Wow, I did not know that.

They send us to Pre-Op right after we leave ENT. Now, I am not sure that I am fully prepared for all this. I just thought it was a simple ENT appointment, they would tell us what they thought, and I would get to go home and think about it. Well, obviously it does not work that way. They scheduled the surgery for August 3^rd and sent me on to Pre-Op. No issue here and the nurse was very nice and answered all of my questions. One thing I did ask her was about recovery time. The doctor had mentioned that he probably would not get to start school on August 9^th, which is the first day of school for our county. This seemed strange to me as I thought kids were pretty resilient and bounced back relatively easily. The nurse said the same thing and stated that it took some up to two weeks to recover. Oh my goodness!

We swing over to the pediatricians' office after we were through with all of this, so that they could check out why he was running a fever. Of course when we get over there, the fever is miraculously gone (I hate it when that happens). We have to wait a while because we are being 'worked in' and it is lunch time, but I did not want to drive all the way home and have to come back, and frankly, I need my child to get well because he is having surgery in two weeks. The doctor runs another strep test and it is negative, and she sees no issues. I ask her about the recovery time, and she too agrees that he needs to recover at least a week and he might be able to go back to school on Wednesday August 11^th.

Of course, the first thing I have to do when I get home is research what exactly a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy are. I will say that there were many stories to back up the long recovery that I'm hearing. One of my favorites was, Diary of a Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy, by Cheryl Webb. She was very thorough in explaining the issues that she went through, and I am thankful that she shared that. I may have to do the same once we get through this surgery.

Oh, here's another kicker. I had to take him back to the doctor on August 23^rd because his ears are hurting. Not just a little bit either, like 'don't touch anywhere near my head' hurting. So, you remember that fluid in his ears I mentioned that the ENT people saw? Well, turns out he has swimmer's ear in both ears, and one ear is full of pus. Great! So, off we go with prescriptions for Cefzil (another antibiotic) and Floxin (for the swimmer's ear). He is on medication now until Sunday and the surgery is Tuesday. Hopefully this means he will be well enough for surgery!