Tonsils/adenoids out in July looking for advice

[nica1]

Hi, my son Adam who is 6 years old will be getting T/A out in July. He has had complete av canal surgery at 2months and still will need a moderate leaking valve fixed at sometime......... But I am very nervous about this and would love to hear from those whose children had this done. He will be spending first night in hospital. He is actually very healthy and energetic little guy. You'd never guess he needed another heart surgery and that he has had one for that matter. He does have sleep apnea and we were told that with his heart condition the sleep apnea could be hard on his heart so I do believe this really should be done and it will help his sleep but I am still nervous and also if anyone who has been through this already and has some helpful hints or advice I'd love to hear it all thanks so much, Monica

[hannahph]

My daughter had her's out at age five. She had sleep apnea also and it has more or less cured this issue. She has a lot more energy than she used to. I was nervous too, Hannah had heart surgery at seven weeks old and this was still nerve wracking but NOTHING like heart surgery. The one thing I would mention is our surgeon was really careful to look at past x rays of her neck- checking for any evidence of atlanto axial instability(neck vertabrae) because of the way the head needs to be positioned during surgery. Also they kept her overnight at the hospital where as lot of kids it's day surgery- just to make sure all ok but she was up playing that evening. I think the worst part for her was afterward she hated the IV. Also expect that your son will be sore for a while and cranky. The other thing was they gave us codeine to take at home and it made her WAY constipated, which she usually has no issues with, so may want to keep an eye on that. It's hard to actually go through with it but it is so worth it and will be over before you know it. Oh yeah, they gave Hannah medication orally before her surgery to make her sleepy and then let me carry her into the OR. They put her IV in after she was asleep so much less tramatic. It wouldn't hurt to ask if they would let you do something similar. Good Luck and keep us posted!-Heather

[CC]

I won't go into our experience with the Tonsils out as lets just say was not fun but I do BELIEVE Chris was an unusual case Chris too has sleep apena hence why they wanted the tonsils out and again Christopher's case must be unusual cause having the tonsils out did not correct the sleep apena


First I was gonna just by pass this thread, as I am not looking to scare you, but thought I would share how it went for us some, as every child and every operation is different.

My one piece of advice is make sure your little one is not discharged from the hospital till they are drinking lots of fluids on there own.

Wishing you the BEST and as it gets closer PLEASE post up the date so we can all send out positive thoughts your way

CC ~

[Chester]

Our little guy turned 3 in March. I was dreading and putting off having his T/A done...he also had his tear ducts cleared and tubes put into his ears.

I was fully prepared for at least one overnight stay in the hospital and a wet little noodle of a boy for a good week....not at all what we got. We were home the same day, he was dancing to his favorite song later that same night and he was eating french fries the next day. He didn't miss a beat.

CC is right, each child responds so differently to each procedure. I am very pleased with the results. Anticipating the surgery was the worst part for us....we'll keep our fingers crossed that it is the same for you.

[Ericsmomma]

Nica1,

Our son, Eric, almost 5yrs., just had his T&A about 6 weeks ago. Like you, I was very apprehensive. He had sleep apnea and sounded like a freight train when he snored. We chose to have it done at Rainbow babies and children's hospital in Cleveland. His ENT doc used a technique called "coblation"..which only targets the tonsils but not the surrounding tissue...much less bleeding and pain, and recovery time is quicker. When they called us back to recovery, I expected him to be out of it...but there he was...sitting up eating a popcicle!!
He stayed overnight too, to make sure he could take fluids. When he got to his room, the nurses doing his arrival assessment kept asking us "are you sure they took his tonsils and adnoids out...he's doing so good!!" Big relief for us. The only thing he took for pain was tylenol....they had tylenol with codeine ordered if needed, but we held off. Sometimes the codiene makes some kids sick to their stomachs, and I didn't want him to throw up (may cause bleeding). We did use the tylenol with codeine on about the 7th day post op. The surgeon said this is when some kids experience some discomfort due to the fact that the scabs from surgery start to come off, and the area is kinda raw...Eric had about 2 days of discomfort around then. But no real complications to speak of. Good Luck, and let us know how he does. p.s. we'll keep you in our prayers.................Dolly

[justinsmom]

Justin had his out when he was 2 he's 5 now. He stayed over night to monitor fluid intake and also because of his pulmonary problems. He did GREAT by the next day he was drinking and he was only on Tylenol also, although they gave us the tylenol with codiene script at discharge just in case but we never had to use it. He also had sleep apnea and the T/A did the trick it also helped out with the Upper Respiratory bugs. He still gets them but now it's not that often and not that bad, whereas before they turned into pneumonia which in turn exaberbated his asthma and off to the hospital for at least a week stay. He also had an ASD/VSD not repaired and needed the antibiotic boost prior to surgery and also a neck xray.

[Jodi]

Hi there!

Ryan had a T/A when he was about 3 1/2. He had it done at Children's Hospital in LA. The experience was fine, and he didn't have any complications. I will tell you that he has grown physically and cognitively so much since the surgery. His ENT doc said that his brain was deprived of oxygen for all those years before he had it done, and that affected his growth and development. I'm glad we had it done!

Jodi

[nica1]

Thank you all for responding, reading your posts has really helped me. Looks like we will be going in July 11, I'm sure I'll be a nervous wreck as the day gets closer, I'll just have to come back here and read these posts:) again thank you so much, Monica

[Connie]

Monica,

Collin had his T&A at 3 (that was 2 years ago--man time flies), he came through the surgery amazingly well and like most stayed over night to monitor fluid intake and breathing but did fine.

I won't go into his recovery story because every child is different but his left me feeling like I would rather repeat his ASD (open heart) surgery before going through this again.

My biggest recommendation to you is no matter what you do, do not miss a dose of pain medication. It is much harder to get rid of pain that to maintain comfort. And for Collin the big turn around point was day 10!!

Good luck and he'll do just fine

Connie

[Ericsmomma]

Monica,

I just wanted to add how much better Eric sounds when sleeping since he had the T&A....bebore the surgery, you could here him all thru the house...snoring, labored breathing, etc....now I have to go and check him to make sure he's ok...I don't hear ANYTHING...what a difference! I wished I would have done the surgery earlier... Now we're waiting to see if this helps with the chronic sinusitis he gets all fall and winter...he missed about 4 months of school last year due to frequent illness. I'm totally sick of omnicef and amoxil!! Hopefully, we can attend a FULL year of pre-school starting this fall. Let us know how your little guy does...Dolly

[samanthajosmom_12]

samantha just had her surgery this past tues. she had an av cannel heart defect when she was born. her valve leaks alittle. someday she might need that repaired. samantha did great through her op[eration. she drank alittle after her surgery and then stopped drinking untill this past friday. she came home today. sue

[nica1]

Sue, thanks for posting, Adam and Samantha sound similar as far as heart issues Was it planned for her to stay that long in hospital or was it because she stopped drinking??? So happy she is home now, how active is she now?? Just curious We'll keep her in our prayers. And thank you everyone with all your help. Monica

[samanthajosmom_12]

well i think her ENT who has a lot of kids with downs know alot of the issues about when they get their tonsils out. her ent was in there the second day to check on her and her resident doctors checked her early every morning . they weight the diapers to make sure they have atleast 3 or more really wet diapers and they have drinking and eating allright with no problems. there was another little boy on samanthas floor who has downs and he went home the day before samantha and he was not wanting to drink either. they also wanted samantha to stay so she could have a bowel momenet . my doctor said usaully 4 days in the hospital. MAKE SURE WHEN THE SURGERY IS GETTING DONE - THEY GIVE THE ANTIBODTICS BEFORE THE SURGERY SO THE HEART DOES NOT GET AN INFECTION. SUE