Alternative to Adenoid Removal Surgery

Our son had his tonsils and adenoids out soon as he turned 4 yrs old.
His were not infected but they swelled up to the point where they almost touched each other across the back of his throat and were becoming an obstruction.
His tonsils got in the way of his breathing and swallowing (eating and drinking) and he snored something awful at night.
The poor kid had perpetual dark circles under his eyes - what sleep he was getting was never enough quality sleep.

We tried steroids to shrink his tonsils and it worked for awhile - but soon as he finished and went off the meds they swelled right back up again.
So we had the tonsils and adenoids taken out.

And it was the best thing we ever did!
First few nights after the surgery I kept checking on his breathing while he slept - he was so quiet after all that snoring I was worried whether he was breathing at all - but he was fine!
He healed up in about a week.
He could eat, drink, breathe and sleep effortlessly!
The dark circles under his eyes went away and he was a lot less cranky since he was finally getting some quality sleep.
It worked out very well!
I'm pretty sure you and your son will be very happy with the results!

I was 19 when my dr finally decided to take mine out. My oldest daughter was 8 1/2 when she had her taken out & I wouldn't have made her wait a day longer. My recovery took was over 2 1/2 weeks and she bounced back in no time. I will admit I was nervous but she had also had tubes put in at the age of 15 months, which was a very lengthy process thanks to the requirements of the insurance company. But I can honestly tell you that she has had strep maybe twice in the past 9 years and the first time she ate solids after all of the ice pops and such was the first time she sat at the table and chewed with her mouth closed. We also noticed that the night after surgery was the first night she slept w/her mouth closed as well. After all of the worries and concern, it was well worth it for her well-being. I wish you and your son the best of luck and I hope you can rest easy knowing that what you are doing for him will benefit him.

Is this the same child with the heart issues? If so, I would definitely follow up with his pediatric cardiologist before having the adenoid surgery. I have a heart kid--who has had 3 open heart surgeries--don't do this surgery until you get the green light from the cardiologist:)

My teenage son is having this surgery in two weeks and I am feeling uneasy too. I understand your concerns. Are you also worried because your son has other health concerns beyond the asthma?

I will say that having this done earlier rather than later is much better. Teens and adults have a much harder recovery. If I were you I would write down a list of your concerns and ask questions of either the surgeon or his nurse. I think a lot of times we moms just need to think through things and get the answers the our questions and concerns.

To keep myself calm I just keep reminding myself that my son will feel so much better. He has PANS and the chronically inflamed/infected tonsils cause him real problems. He is often very tired and has dark circles under his eyes, in addition to the PANS symptoms. I honestly do not think there is an alternative for my son and I would, if I were you, trust what your son's doctor is saying. I will be thinking very positive thoughts for you and your son.

Is this your 3 year old who you wrote about with a heartbeat question?

If it is, I'd like to mention two things. His heart and his speech.

It seems to me that you haven't had a lot of time to digest this. Have you taken him for testing to a pediatric cardiologist? Has he worn a Holter for 24 hours? (Probably hard for a 3 year old.) Has he had an EKG and an ultrasound of his heart?

I would no more walk into surgery without definitive answers than the man in the moon. You should make sure you understand this regardless of what the ENT says.

Now, about your son's speech. You should know more about your child's palate structure before you agree to the surgery. Does he have a short soft palate? How is his speech? Does he sound nasal AT ALL when he talks? The reason this is important is because a short palate needs a ROOF so that it doesn't have to work so hard while speaking. The adenoids are a roof. A child with this can end up having permanent hypernasality if the adenoids are removed.

An xray is not enough to determine this. I promise you. Your child needs a nasal endoscopy. A light and camera will show the adenoids and the entire structure. That structure needs to be taken into account. The adenoids CAN be shaved and minimized without taking out so much that the roof of the palate is compromised.

How do I know all this stuff? Because I went through it with my own son. His tonsils were removed, and thank God, the ENT actually understood what he was looking at because he only shaved and minimized my son's adenoids rather than take them down to the nubs. He saw my son's structure and understood that he needed that roof. BUT, fast forward 2 years when we lived in another state, and my son had a lot of sinus infections. A new ENT told me that he needed his adenoids removed, without as much as an xray. He wouldn't answer my questions, he wouldn't do any diagnostic tests. I found another doctor who was willing to do a nasal endoscopy to see what was going on, and that ENT was wrong. My son's adenoids were not the problem. A surgery would have done nothing but cause pain and more speech issues than he already had. You can bet I didn't go back to that guy.

Please step back and deal with the heart issue first. Then ask for a nasal endoscopy to talk about your son's structure and make sure that his speech won't be adversely affected.

I promise you that it's worth it.

Have but done and watch the results. He will not be tired and have a lot of energy. He is probably suffering from sleep apnea.

second opinion.
don't trust the dr? get a different one.
i would never send my kid under the knife if i wasn't sure they needed it.
my child snores, his dr put him on allergy meds and a nasal spray to see if it helped first and said we wouldn't even consider that kind of surgery till he was older and it was still a problem or if he seemed like he was gasping for air while snoring.