I have zero faith in the medical community anymore, and less faith in any online resources spewing 'medical advice'. My 11yo son is going in for surgery soon, for removal of tonsils and adenoids. I know this is routine procedure nowadays so I am not at all worried, But I am curious, have any of you had this procedure done recently or know someone who has? Especially someone young. I had it done 30 years ago and I was too young to remember anything. I'm sure its much different today. Because of the surgery, he'll be out of school for a week but my hope is he'll be recovered enough in a few days. He's active and involved in sports and want to make sure he can resume his normal lifestyle in 4-5 days, but no idea what to expect in terms of recovery.
Any thoughts based on recent experiences greatly appreciated!
Good response dec. Although my only experience with kids is recovery room right after surgery, they do amazingly well even in that short time after surgery. I agree that if a kiddo is snoring and a sleep study confirms they aren’t getting good rem, they probably should have a T&A if a reputable pediatric ENT has confirmed. Everyone needs good sleep. Especially our littles so they can grow properly both physically and mentally. I would also add that when the pediatric anesthesiologist chats with you prior to surgery, you ask about suctioning their stomach of any blood that may have dripped down from surgery, and that the post op RNs are aware of any signs of a post op bleed. Blood in the gastric system doesn’t sit well, and will be vomited back up fully, and forcefully.
Thank you very much for sharing. I like your suggestion about asking about stomach suctioning. Is that a common thing during such a procedure? I know when I had my tonsils out as a teenager I did cough up blood that evening (no vomit).
As for follow up care in the next couple of days when you take him home, he shouldn’t have any sharp food products like chips or popcorn that could irritate the throat or cause abrasions or rupture sutures. Frozen ice pops will be your friend, as long as they aren’t colored with red or purple food dye. It isn’t uncommon to have nausea after this procedure, so you don’t want food dyes that could be misidentified as blood.
Also, no dairy products. Don’t promise ice cream! The suction that your mouth creates to swallow dairy is too forceful on fresh sutures in the throat. Chicken noodle soup = perfect!
Ginger ale and clear fizzy liquids in small amounts help clean the pallet and help wash down any remaining food debris.
I pray he recovers quickly and is back to his normal active self without any complications :-)
Thank you so much for the info. Yea, we loaded up on ice cream, yogurt and pudding, but since all those are dairy, sounds like we should probably avoid them. Also have apple sauce, popsicles and fruit juices. I thank you again for your comments. Most appreciated.