<p>This procedure is very overprescribed to begin with. We go in hope to get some relief and end up having more upper respiratory problems as a result. Tonsils are a natural barrier for microbs. Atlmom - good you were there!</p>
<p>D had an abscessed tonsil while in college resulting in a very serious infection lasting a month…after it was drained in an emergency room they said her tonsils need to go. They have always been very large, she snored such that it raised the roof and she was a constant mouth breather…I think they dont take them out as often as they used to…but most who do it are glad in the end. </p>
<p>not sure why 17-22 is the prime time for this except maybe they are a hard group to keep down. the tonsilular bed is right on major arteries and vessels.</p>
<p>A friend of ours (well past 22) had the same surgery with the same complication…</p>
<p>Like Atlmom’s d., our son had multiple abscesses–was very ill for 6 weeks, several courses of antibiotics and steroids. Dr. said if tonsils didn’t come out, he was afraid that son would end up septic. That was why we couldn’t even wait until end of semester.</p>
<p>Atlmom, you & your D are in my thoughts & prayers. I hope she has a very speedy recovery, physically & mentally. </p>
<p>I had my tonsils out when I was 19. My mom is a nurse & knew that the surgery was risky at that age, so we were at least prepared for it. All these years later, I can remember how difficult the recovery was!! The 9 year old next to me in the recovery room was eating ice cream … I couldn’t even THINK about eating anything! My mom had to force me to drink. The pain was terrible. It took weeks to feel better. In spite of that, I am so very glad I had the surgery when I did. I had been sick so often, and I had difficulty getting to classes/studying due to my illnesses. After I recovered, my quality of life was so much better. Hopefully, your D will experience the same positive change … that may help her put the problems she had after surgery into perspective.</p>
<p>Hope all is better soon!</p>
<p>“However, this age group has this risk and we were not aware of it.
I don’t want other parents or students to go into this relatively “simple” procedure unaware.”</p>
<p>This really is not a low-risk childhood surgery because of the very real risk of bleeding and also post-op dehydration. </p>
<p>It used to be that patients would spend several days in the hospital after the surgery for obsevation and hydration. Then the insurance companies cut this back to 23 hours. Now it is done as an in-and-out surgery, often at an outpatient surgical center. This is all most insurances will aprove, as they will not pay for the 23 hours observation stay anymore.</p>
<p>This current practice of sending patients home after tonsillectomy 3-4 hours post-op is risky for some important reasons. One is pain control, and the risk of dehydration if the patient cannot swallow liquids due to pain or drowsiness from pain meds. In the hospital, it is very helpful to get IV fluids for 24 hours post-op. The other is the risk of bleeding. Although some bleeding occurs several days post-op, other times it is immediately after.</p>
<p>The current trend of the in-and-out tonsillectomy surgery may make insurance companies happy, but can lead to readmissions after complications.</p>
<p>The short term complications can be pain, bleeding and/or dehydration. Patients should stay at least 24 hours post-op for observation and IVs. Although some will do OK at home right after surgery, others won’t, and it is impossible to know which will be having problems until they are now already home.</p>
<p>The bleeding happend to my D at 5, so age doesn’t seem to matter. My two s’s had theirs out at almost the exact age with no complications.She stayed in the hospital the longest, had the IV in the longest, ate the softest food the longest, laid around the longest- so none of those things were the sole reason for the bleedout. She had more trouble with her wisdom teeth as well. My H had his out two summers ago and besides the discomfort for a week, got through it just fine.</p>
<p>I didn’t mean to imply that adolescents needed more observation after tonsillectomies than younger patients; they all do, regardless of age. The point that I was trying to make is that tonsillectomy has not become less risky recently per post-op complications. It was the insurance companies who make the decision to not observe in a hospital post-op. The procedure still has the same risks, regardless of the insurance companies views, and many people have trouble after per pain, bleeding and dehydration, esp during the first 24-48 hours.</p>
<p>I agree with you collegialmom. I am a nurse (though haven’t practiced for some years) and I felt like full time private duty when son was post-op at home. I monitored fluid intake carefully. Forced him to take fluids when he didn’t want to, bugged dr. for better pain med (spray anesthetic), kept the humidifier going to keep scabs from drying and possibly leading to increased chance of bleeding.</p>
<p>I too think they should be in hospital for hydration–though I have to say the one death I know of post tonsillectomy (locally) was a 30 something year old woman who was kept in hospital and bled out during the night. I would say that anyone who has a teen/young adult planning to go through this should plan to have someone at home with them for the first 10-14 days.</p>
<p>I have a question for the medical people here. What about the laser procedure to remove tonsils? Are the risks of bleeding the same as a traditional procedure?</p>
<p>“I too think they should be in hospital for hydration–though I have to say the one death I know of post tonsillectomy (locally) was a 30 something year old woman who was kept in hospital and bled out during the night. I would say that anyone who has a teen/young adult planning to go through this should plan to have someone at home with them for the first 10-14 days.”</p>
<p>Generally, it would a good idea to have someone else there, and with children and adolescents, it is easy for a parent to stay overnight to help out. The woman above must have bled very quickly to hemorrhage like that.</p>
<p>Good grief, we were just at the ENT surgeon’s office yesterday for an eval of my 12 year old! Talk about a timely thread…
She has had 4 episodes of tonsillitis/pharyngitis from January to April including 2 cases of strep. Prior to this, however, she has not had any problems with her throat.<br>
The surgeon left the final decision up to us and my gut feeling yesterday was to wait it out a little while and see if this improves on it’s own.
I am certainly feeling that even more strongly now.</p>
<p>For children and adolescents with recurrent pharyngitis, a tonsillectomy can make an incredible difference in their quality of life. If you decide to wait to see if she has another one, that is understandable, but you really need to examine what her life would be like if she did not have recurrent pharyngiits. Often, it is much better, and worth the risks, as explained by the surgeon.</p>
<p>I agree, collegialmom, and we are certainly open to the option of surgery if needed.<br>
But given that she has never had any problems previous to this, I am crossing my fingers that this was just a fluke bad year and hopefully the sore throats will not reoccur. My d missed a total of 8 days of school with these infections and she really does not want that to happen again.</p>
<p>It’s a hard decision to make. Your child very well may have had just a “bad” year. On the other hand, patients do better when they have the surgery done in a relatively healthy state instead of having to do it when they are ill. Also, if done more electively, one can plan for a convenient time to have it done.</p>
<p>My son had never had serious throat problems. I think he had strep twice during school years. Just this past fall had recurrent infections that wouldn’t clear, seemed resistant to antibiotics and then developed those abscesses. Now, looking back, he says he often had minor sore throats that he didn’t mention (attributed to allergies) and now does not snore.</p>
<p>If we only had a crystal ball ;)!</p>
<p>Atlmom, I hope and pray your D is doing better. Thank-you so much for taking the time to help others by posting. My D has had strep about once a year for the past few years and at least twice yearly sinus infections. So, if a tonsillectomy is ever recommended, I will remember your instructions. Has anyone ever used a “neti pot” to help clear sinus infections? I got one recently from the health food store for H and D and it seems to help. It’s basically a mini teapot that you use to flush out your sinuses with a saline solution. Most health food stores are very familiar with how to use one.</p>
<p>Neti pots are AWESOME. Just don’t expect an audience when doing it! And have lots of tissues around.</p>
<p>Atlmom,
So sorry to hear of your daughter’s surgery complications! I hope you are doing ok, and that she is on the mend. Are you home in Atlanta with her, or is she out of town? Is she still struggling with the fear of going to sleep and the struggles with all the emergency/near death experiences? PM me and I’ll be happy to takl about resources for you.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone for your posts. My D is doing better after the second emergency surgery (second visit to the ER resulted in it) She is now 9 days out from second surgery…hopefully on the mend but cautious. We had to cancel our trip to yosemite made a year ago. :^( but, that was not an option.</p>
<p>There is a new device which i THOUGHT my dr. was going to use which uses a lower temp spray of salt water to tear the tissue. Supposed to be less recovery time and less pain due to the lower temp. For some reason my Dr. decided NOT to use that device but used some cauterizing device instead. I wonder if severe bleeding that my d had would have been less…</p>
<p>My D is sleeping alone finally,…I feel like this 20 year old is a baby again with the constant supervision that has been required. </p>
<p>There are always risks of bleeding to this surgery. Dr. told us the severe bleeding she had was a less than 1% of tonsilectomy patients. THose are good odds I guess she was just extremely unlucky.</p>
<p>So glad to hear that things are finally looking brighter! Best wishes to you & your D as she continues to heal.</p>