Tonsil Removal?
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 at
7:35 pm
Are there any risks in the procedure? Why dont doctors remove tonsils as much as they used to anymore? Has anyone here had theirs removed?- If so could you tell me about your experience.
Filed under: Tonsil Removal
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A tonsillectomy should be considered when tonsillitis attacks are so frequent or severe that they affect a child’s general health or interfere with school, hearing, or breathing. However, some physicians believe tonsillectomies are done more often than necessary, so get a second opinion when there is any doubt.
Specifically, the guidelines for surgery are:
* 7 or more episodes of tonsillitis in 1 year
* 5 or more episodes per year over a 2-year period
* Enlarged tonsils that interfere with breathing
* An abscess in the tonsils
* Grossly asymmetric tonsils
A tonsillectomy also may be needed if the tonsils are enlarged and blocking access to the adenoids during an adenoidectomy or if the physician suspects the presence of a tonsil tumor.
After surgery, your child’s throat will be sore. He or she may have ear pain as well. Encourage your child to suck on ice cubes or frozen fruit pops, eat ice cream or sherbet, and drink cold liquids. You may want to use a cool-mist humidifier in your child’s bedroom. While your child is recovering, keep in mind that he or she will be more susceptible to infection than usual. Avoid crowds and exposure to anyone who may be ill. If your child begins to bleed from the mouth, report it to the doctor immediately.
Please see the web pages for more details on Tonsillitis and Tonsillectomy.
5
all surgery carries a risk of a lethal infection
Yes I had mine removed in 1990. I went into surgery and went home that night, i had sore throat and couldn’t talk much for a couple of days
Check out this site:
http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/mosby_factsheets/tonsillectomy.html
It has lots of information on a Tonsillectomy
No, they don’t as much as they used too. Now they prefer to give you tablets to get rid of it, but it comes back regularly, as i experience that myself. It’s very annoying and i wish i could’ve just had mine removed!
Hope this helps =D
I had my tonsils removed in my mid 20’s. I had tonsilitis pretty much most of the time and it didnt matter how much anti-biotics i had, it didnt help. So they had to take them out. The risks, as far as im aware is bleeding, plus other risks associated with surgery. Doctors dont take them out unless they need to come out. When i was a kid, i heard doctors used to get the removed for the sake of it, but i dont know why that was. My experience with having tonsilitis all the time wasnt a good one. I was always sick and always on antibiotics. it was just awful. Im so glad that i had them removed. Yes my throat hurt after the operation, however thats was pain medication is for. You’ll need minimum 3 weeks off work if your an adult. Apparently children recover quicker from having their tonsils removed than adults.
There are always risks in any surgical procedure. The doctor should advise you of any possible complications of the surgery. Doctors don’t remove tonsils as much as before because it has been proven that the tonsils actually act as a defense system for preventing infections. More of a help than a hinderance. My husband had his tonsils removed at 35 years of age. It was a little annoying for him for about 10 days. He had a sore throat and some difficulty swallowing. He was on a soft diet, and did well. It was worth it for him though, his tonsils were really rotten. Food was getting caught in them, so it was really unpleasant to speak to him that way. (he smelled bad) He’s been without them for 6 years now and he’s fine. Good luck if you’re about to have yours taken out.
The risks are minimal, although there are technically risks to any surgical procedure.
There was a time when doctors were quick to remove tonsils and adenoids if there was any problem. Now any surgical procedure must be deemed very necessary by both the doctor and the insurance company.
I didn’t have my tonsils out until I was 33 years old. I’m sorry to tell you but it was an awful experience. You might as well be prepared if you are an adult. The actual surgery is only about 1/2 hour, but the recovery time is so much longer for an adult. It was about 4 weeks until I was healed and the pain was bad.
I understand that for children the procedure and recovery are much faster. My ENT doctor said kids often miss less than 1 week of school. He also warned me about how rough it is on adults.
I really wasn’t worried. I didn’t think it could possibly be too horrible. I underestimated. Sorry to scare you, but you may as well know the truth.
However, I am truly glad now that I do not have constant tonsillitis anymore.
Very minor day surgery. You can get a second opinion, but doctors usually remove tonsils when there is lots of infection that isn’t healing.
It is only done as a last resort because they prefer to stop infection using other methods. When they can’t succeed, they remove the point of infection.
You might go in in the morning and have it done, and leave the hospital in the afternoon. They should give you pain meds for 3 – 7 days. Take all of them. YOu will be sore and have trouble talking for 3 days, and have trouble swallowing solid food for about 3 days. Then, you should get fewer sore throats or colds.
There aren’t many risks in tonsil removal other than infection – you will be given a course of antibiotics to help with this. Doctors are now recluctant to remove them because any bacteria passed on through colds, flu etc go straight into the chest and can cause infection there, which can lead to bronchial and chest problems. Tonsils are designed to ‘catch’ these germs and prevent that happening. However, for some people this prevention mechanism causes more toruble than it’s worth!
Doctors nowadays tend only to remove tonsils if repeated bouts of tonsillitis are diagnosed.
I was small when I had mine taken out, but its painful afterwards – kind of a burning sensation. Think of a really bad dose of Tonsillitis and you’re there – It’s a great excuse to eat loads of ice lollies/ice cream. Avoid anything spiky or hard for the first week – it’s like swallowing razor blades…
I seem to remember being okay after that, though.
there will always be risks involved especially when it comes to surgeries. the tonsil area is highly vascular–meaning– there a lots of nerves in that area that may lead to excessive bleeding. that is why before surgery the surgeon usually orders to give the patient drugs that will control his body secretions (anticholinergics eg. Atropine SO4). but dont worry after surgery though, you will be positioned properly so that you would not be able to swallow bits of clotted blood. tonsillectomy is actually a fairly easy surgery, there really isn’t something to be worried about.
1. There is an inherent risk in any operation due to surgery/anesthesia. It may be minimal, but anyone who gets any complication will think it is 100%!
2. Tonsils are lymphoid organs, concerned with immunity and defense. They are like guards. This concept reduced the # of operations, but recurrent attacks of suppurative tonsillitis are still indications for tonsillectomy.
3. I had been posted for the operation once but my uncle who was a doctor, advised against it, so I ‘escaped’! I took some homoeopathic medicines & recognized the precipitating factors in my diet. (Those are always there.) It kept my problem fairly under control.
If anyone has severe frequent attacks, he/she needs surgery. But as I have experienced, a consideration should be given to finding precipitating factors in the diet and avoiding those.
All the best!
There is a risk in all surgical procedures. The risk with tonsillectomy is extremely small. I was 18 when I had mine removed and it relieved years of sore throats and earache. It was worth the small risk to get rid of the pain, especially with my ears! Apparently the tonsils had grown so large they covered the ends of the eustachian tubes and caused really bad earache. I haven’t had any earache since they were removed (or a sore throat). So, if your doctor advises it, get rid of them.