Has anyone gone through adenoid removal surgery in your child? I understand it's not too bad. My 3.5yo will likely be having it done fairly soon. He doesn't need his tonsils out, just adenoids, which I think will make the recovery easier.
I'm not nervous about the actual surgery or recovery - more nervous about him getting scared/freaking out at the hospital and that sort of thing. I hate traumatizing him, but he's been so sick and I think it will help him.
Would love to hear your experiences!!
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
We opted not to get LO’s adenoids removed, but at his last ear tube surgery he was given a liquid drug before surgery to calm him. The drug helped with anxiety and nervousness right before the surgery and he didn’t even remember the surgery. One of LO’s classmates had his adenoids removed and the parents kept their LO out of school for a week. We are FB friends and based on the pics she posted his recovery went well. Lots of cold treats and playing. 
nectarine / 2262 posts
@mrs. lemon-lime - yep - versed for sedation/anti-anxiety! Definitely important. Can I ask why you decided not to get your son's adenoids removed? We haven't made the final decision on whether to have surgery or not...
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
@MrsADS: my husband had just sat on a week long jury trial for a surgical malpractice case and he was adamant that LO did not have what he perceived an elective surgery given the alternatives- new ear tubes (one had fallen out and the ear infections came back) and just waiting since by age 5 most kids grow out of the need to remove adenoids. My son did not have sleep or breathing issues.
nectarine / 2400 posts
@MrsADS: we did it and it was well worth it and easy peasy. She cried waking up from the anesthesia but that was it. Wasn’t traumatized at all
persimmon / 1023 posts
We did last summer. Tubes in and adenoids out. He was almost 4. Worst parts were trying to keep him entertained in the 2 hrs wait before we went into surgery and then after the anesthetic. But he was back eating the same day by the afternoon and no ill effects from either procedure. It was the best thing we ever did for his speech, mouth breathing, congestion.
Ours was at the children’s hospital so they had a great pre-surgery waiting room. Lots of toys and books and tv. Bright colours and comfy chairs. He wasn’t nervous or scarred at all. Then when we got taken to surgical prep they gave him something that made him suuuuper loopy. It was actually so hilarious as he was so stoned haha! He was laughing at me with my blue hairnet and couldn’t stop giggling. I was incredibly anxious about it and DW was 34 weeks pregnant so that really lightened the mood. I went to the OR with him and saw him get put under, which wasn’t as traumatic as I expected. The procedure was like 30 mins or something crazy fast. He cried a lot and was confused and sleepy after but then they gave him popsicles and he literally ate SEVEN before they cut him off. Went home maybe 2 hrs after it was done.
blogger / nectarine / 2043 posts
@gotkimchi: This was our experience as well. We had my daughter's out at 3. The longest part was checking in and waiting for our time slot, because they make you go hours prior, but once they were ready, I got to walk her into the operating room and help her lay down on the stretcher. The doctor showed her some cool stuff around the room because she was curious, and after the put the mask on her, which sometimes freaks kids out, it look less than a minute for her to be out, so if your kiddo is stressed out before the anesthesia, that part will go super quick. The surgery took a half hour, tops. The most traumatic part was her coming out of anesthesia because it's disorienting, so we made sure we had her lovey, a few of her favorite toys, and her iPad to distract her. They sent us home an hour later, and she was bouncing off the walls later that day. It's super simple and he's young enough that he will forget any worries pretty fast. Good luck!
nectarine / 2262 posts
Thank you everyone! I really appreciate it. We're very likely going to have it done but it is still scary! He snores and sleeps terribly, he's very irritable and cranky (due to poor sleep) and he has basically had one continuous sinus infection since October that has not responded to 3 rounds of strong antibiotics. The ENT did a nasal endoscopy and said his adenoid was huge and the whole area was covered with debris, pus, etc. I think it will greatly improve his quality of life to get it out. We have our ENT follow up appointment next week and probably will be scheduling surgery then.
I guess there was a part of me hoping that once we got to summer, his sickness would get better and as he grew, he wouldn't need to have the surgery. But I think it's probably time to just do it.
nectarine / 2400 posts
@MrsADS: just wanted to say her adenoid was blocking 70% of her airway so it was labeled severe. It absolute improved her sleep
blogger / nectarine / 2043 posts
@MrsADS: Definitely do it. We had the exact same issue with my daughter - she spent a year on antibiotics for sinus and ear issues, and after we had her adenoids out, she's barely been sick since. If I knew how simple the surgery was, I probably would have done it earlier, to be honest.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
@MrsADS: for sure sounds like your son can totally benefit from the surgery! Our situation was just different even the check up that lead to the surgery recommendation.
pear / 1823 posts
My DS has it done at 4. The worst part was waking up from the anesthesia. He was super disoriented. It was well worth it. His sleeping is so much better and he’s not constantly congested anymore. It also improved his rating since I think his tonsils were causing a gag reflex.
nectarine / 2262 posts
Thanks everyone!! @mrs. carrot yeah, he's on day 7 of double strength Augmentin and he's got even more green snot coming out of his nose, not less. 
The ENT basically said it won't get better till we take it out.
apricot / 294 posts
@MrsADS: my almost 5yo son had his adenoids removed a week ago, and he went to preschool the following day. He was disoriented coming out of the anesthesia, and did vomit some saliva but otherwise was fine. The nurses weren’t too concerned about the vomit - they said it can happen bc of the anesthesia.
A few days prior to the procedure, we started to tell him, gently but in a matter of fact way, that he was going to go to the hospital for a procedure to help his breathing. We reassured him that mom and dad would be there with him and that the doctor would give him something so it wouldn’t hurt. We made a point to emphasize why it was needed, to help him breathe better. He was nervous when we first told him but it definitely helped him to have us discuss it with him a few times. And the last couple of times we reminded him of the procedure, he would jump in with “ its to help me breathe better.” And of course we took a new toy to the hospital with us.
Check with the hospital when scheduling, but I avoided an early surgery time because of the food and liquid restrictions. I chose a 10:40 time because he had to stop all solid food at 2:40am, and could only have water, juice or clear jello from 2:40-7:40am and then nothing for 3 hours prior to the procedure. I wanted to be able to offer him plenty of water and Jello when he woke up. Because what child will be in a good mood when you take him to the hospital hungry and parched and make him wait for over an hour during check-in, patient registration, pre-op. He was pretty happy to have apple juice and Jello for breakfast, bc that never happens.
nectarine / 2262 posts
@myicitygirl thanks so much for sharing your experience. Did your son have any pain/discomfort post op? I've read they can have some pain, sore throat, etc. Good idea to bring a new toy to play with.
Today has been so bad I'm ready to get it done asap
coconut / 8472 posts
We're going to be doing this, plus tonsils out and tubes in May. DS has had hearing problems on and off for a year. The doctor also thinks that he likely has sleep apnea, caused by all this.
The surgery is supposed to take 45 minutes, and the recovery is supposed to be a week. I'm hoping in a couple months we see some big improvements. I'm tired of yelling at him just to be heard. And I'm hoping his energy levels get more manageable - sleep apnea can cause hyperactivity. Right around the time he turned 3 he just started being practically manic at times. I did so much googling trying to figure out what was up with him, and after 2 years just kind of accepted that this is who he is. But man, I will feel so vindicated if this is the silver bullet.
persimmon / 1168 posts
@MrsADS: my son had his out and ear tubes in back in Sept. he was 3 years 9m at the time.
the hardest part was coming out of the anesthesia. He was stressed out and they had to give him something to calm him down. But otherwise the recovery was very smooth. I honestly felt it was harder on me than it was him. He was home for a few days and back at preschool the same week.
It has really helped his sleep, and his speech. He did get croup twice afterwards which he had never had before but I’m not sure if there is a connection or not. His problems with congestion and ear infections have not returned since the surgery.
Good luck and hope all goes well!
grapefruit / 4466 posts
@MrsADS: Sorry to threadjack, but do you mind if I ask how you/the pediatrician determined the surgery was needed?
My LO is always congested (non-stop cold for months and months) and snores fairly frequently, and has never been a great sleeper. I never thought of the sleep as being connected to adenoids before but it kind of makes sense...
blogger / nectarine / 2043 posts
@periwinklebee: My daughter was diagnosed by an ENT. I took her myself, because I'd been to ENTs myself as a kid and adult for my own sinus issues. She was constantly congested, we had multiple ear and sinus infections, so I wanted another check by an expert. The ENT checked her first in April, said that the adenoids look enlarged but to give it until summer when germs are less likely to be an issue, and then we came back in August, after more ear and sinus infections, and she recommended surgery, which we had done in October. We didn't deal with sleep issues, however, and if we were, I imagine we might have had a faster surgery recommendation.
grapefruit / 4466 posts
@Mrs. Carrot: Thank you, this is super helpful! I'm going to keep an eye on it, and ask the ped more at our next visit.
apricot / 294 posts
@MrsADS: my son didn’t have too much discomfort. They have him an oral dose of Tylenol during post-op. I didn’t have to give him any more pain meds after leaving the hospital. He was fine at school the next day, maybe a bit low on energy in the morning, but otherwise no difference in behavior.
nectarine / 2262 posts
@periwinklebee @mrs. carrot ours was similar. My son had been sick with a sinus infection that would not resolve since October (and now it's March!) even after 3 rounds of antibiotics. He snores every night and is very cranky and irritable even after a long night of sleep (12 hours), so I did not think he was sleeping well. Constant congestion - even when he doesn't have snot coming out of his nose, if he starts crying, then he will have thick green snot come out, like it's sitting up in his head. He frequently has low grade fevers and is generally just extremely irritable. I don't think he feels well a lot of the time.
The pediatrician was going to try another antibiotic (we were also on sinus meds) and I asked to see the ENT. We went to see him about 2 weeks ago. He did a nasal endoscopy (they use a tiny tube with a camera they stick up the child's nose to look at the adenoids/sinuses) and saw that his adenoids were huge and covered in debris, pus, and snot.
ENT told me he would not get better without surgery. He said we could try a stronger antibiotic and it might help temporarily, but as soon as he picks up another cold or sniffly nose, he will be right back where we started. I decided to try one more round of meds before surgery, but halfway through Augmentin he actually got worse. Talked to the ENT over the phone and he is seeing us this Thursday, likely scheduling surgery. I really didn't want to do surgery, but it's not fair to make my son suffer when it sounds like it can be pretty easily fixed.
pomegranate / 3601 posts
So my DS1 who is now nearly 6 got his adenoids out at around age 4.25. While he wasn't actually sick all the often he regularly had a bad ventilation in his ears and he was always sleeping with his mouth open (aka snoring). I actually never connected the dots that his poor sleep was associated to his adenoids. But his language/speech, sleep and overall health have improved so much in the last 1.5 years since surgery.
Surgery itself for us was uneventful, he went in in the morning (our ENT performed the surgeries in order of age so since we were the second youngest that day he got to go in second). Both the ENT and the anesthesiologist made it a nearly fun experience for the kids. For us wakeup was totally easy and we were home less than an hour after surgery. The young boy next to us was having a tough time and was totally disoriented – so I think you just never know how a child reacts to anesthesia. Surgery was Wednesday and he was back in daycare Monday. He had one round of ibuprofen at home and then didn’t need any pain meds. We got a list of what foods we ought to avoid in the first couple of days post-surgery.
Overall I very much don’t regret our decision to do the surgery.
nectarine / 2262 posts
Hi all - my 3yo is having his adenoids out this Thursday. I will come back and report it goes.
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