Adenoidectomies - Experiences professional and personal

In My Humble Opinion
1

The background:

Spike has had his forth ear infection since starting day care this past October, so his pediatrician referred him to a Pediatric ENT. Mrs. Magill and I figured he’d be getting tubes in. No problem, since his older brother, Fang had ear tubes put in for the same reasons at 12 months and only had occasional ear infections after that. We’re good with tubes.

The ENT checked him out. He took a good long gander in his ears, nose, and throat, and told us that he thinks his adenoids may be blocking the eustation(sp?) tubes connecting his ears and nose. He called the condition “glue ear”, because the mucus produced by the middle ear starts to act like Elmer’s Glue when it can’t drain out of the ear. He suggested an adenoidectomy in addition to the ear tubes. He said this cleared up “glue ear” in nearly all his patients who would not respond to tubes.

Obviously, this is more invasive than ear tubes, and Mrs. Magill and I are a little wary of allowing a seven month old to be put under for as long as it would take to remove his adenoids. On the other hand, Fang has severe speech issues resulting from hearing loss from before he was 12 months. We don’t want to have to repeat two and a half years of speech therapy.

Would anyone care to share their stories regarding adenoidectomies? Bonus points to any pediatricians who wouldn’t mind chiming in.

Thanks all.

2

One of my boys had tubes inserted and an adenoidectomy without any problems and with a good result, when he was about four. His hearing improved and no more constant runny nose.

He did, however, have surgery for pyloric stenosis (correcting a birth defect in his abdomen) when he was about four months old. That also went well.

It’s understandable to be apprehensive, but when you look at what surgeons are doing with preemies today, it’s just amazing. So surgery on a 7-month-old is probably routine to them.

My only suggestion would be for you and/or your wife to be with Spike as much as possible while he’s hospitalized. Don’t depend on the nurses (wonderful as they are) to be at his side every minute.

I was away from my son for several hours on his first post-op day, and I was surprised to see that he’d spit up a good bit of reddish fluid. It was dried up when I saw it, so he’d been unattended for awhile. The nurse didn’t seem to think it was a big deal, but I couldn’t help but think “What if he was choking?” So be there all the time if you can.

ETA: I don’t mean to be a fear monger. I think it’s a good idea for someone to be with hospitalized patients of any age after surgery.

3

I had my adenoids out when I was 6 because I kept getting strep throat. It seemed to help with that and everything went fine. Hopefully this is one small, reassuring data point.

4

Your kids’ ears sound like my older son’s ears. He had his first bi-lateral ear infection at 7 months and the first set of tubes at 11 months. He also had amazingly huge tonsils and adenoids.

But we believed the standard line about 80% of all children don’t get tubes but those who do, of them 80% never need another set.

Well my son blew THAT bell curve. He ended up with four sets of tubes. When he was four years old (so older than your little guy) and going in for the fourth set our pediatric ENT strongly suggested we remove the tonsils and adenoids, mostly because my son couldn’t breathe through his nose with his mouth shut.

Long story made not quite so long, the surgery was fine, he recovered very quickly and also stopped snoring. His hearing took a couple more years to recover, but thankfully he didn’t have speech issues from the hearing loss.

Looking back, I think part of our problem was that we were still in the Army when he was getting his first set of tubes, plus we weren’t near a large hospital and didn’t have access to pediatricians who fully understood the challenges his ears, and throat posed. I wish we could have removed those suckers right out of the gate and maybe have spared him the hearing issues, the snoring, and most definitely the four sets of tubes. Once those germ collectors were out, he really didn’t get sick any more. Well until he developed Type I diabetes but that’s not related to* this* story in the least.

5

Another small data point…my brother had his tonsils and adenoids out when he was a kid (maybe 6, like Harriet), and also got tubes. So it was about 25 years ago. I do know that on videos of him as a kid, he had a really weird voice and once he had that stuff removed, his voice got normal

Anyway, he never got strep growing up, while I had it 2-3 times a year (I have my tonsils and adenoids). He has always had problems with wax buildup and has sort of been prone to ear infections (again, not as much as me I don’t think), but he’s not deaf so that’s a plus.

6

As an infant, my son had repeated ear infections, but always just outside the limits of when they would have mandated tubing his ears. My nephews had all had tubes inserted and they still seemed to suffer multiple infections so I was rather against tubing unless absolutely necessary.

They tested his hearing a few times before he was four, he did well on all the tests so the pediatrician and I kept trying to wait for him to just outgrow everything and not get tubed.

After a prolonged ear/sinus infection around five, we saw a pediatric ENT who recommended taking out both the adenoids and tonsils. Surgery went well, the only surprise being when the surgeon came out to tell me everything was fine and remarked “That’s the most tissue I’ve ever removed doing this procedure on a kid that size!” Apparently his adenoids were ginormous.

Recovery was hellacious because the liquid tylenol stung the raw throat so he refused to take it until he was so miserable that I’d force it down him and he’d bawl, but medically everything was great. Fewer illnesses as a result and quicker healing, he no longer copped a sinus/throat/ear infection from every random cold after that, making the pediatrician and I wish we’d done it sooner rather than waiting.

7

When I was a kid, most kids seemed to have their tonsils out. When I had kids of my own, that was no longer so. But my oldest (who was born in 1965) had constant colds and ear infections and rotten, stinking sore throats and at last our doctor said, “his tonsils are almost gangrenous” and out they came and that was the end of the sore throats and ear infections. Like turning a switch.

My nephew never had that surgery, but he had tubes in his ears all the bloody time, as I recall. He suffered hearing loss.

My 10 year old grandson gets dreadful throat infections - in 2005 he had 4 horrible bouts. It is not strep, we’ve had the cultures done. He has a bad go of it right now, it knocks the stuffing out of a usually active, rambunctious boy. If he gets another bout of it this winter, I am going to agitate for his tonsils to be removed. Sometimes, I think, it’s a necessity. (My husband and I are the kids’ guardians, I’m not being an interfering granny.)

It is certainly serious surgery. When I had mine removed I was 15 and had a very bad time. Generally younger kids deal with it very well – my two brothers and I had them out at the same time, they were 7 and 9 and they were up running around and eating jello in no time.

But tonsilitis, or whatever you want to call it, is a dreadful drain on a kid’s health. It is often much better for the kid to have them out, and the adenoids, than to keep with the tubes and anti-biotics, etc.

Was there not some connection made somewhere by someone about children having a bottle in bed with them contributing to this problem? No time to look now, I’ll see if I can find it later.

I’d get the tonsils out, myself, is what I was driving at.

8

Thanks for the replies.

Auntie Pam, I don’t think we’d have to worry about Spike being left alone. There’d be hell to pay if they didn’t allow Mrs. Magill to stay with him either during the procedure or recovery.

I’m going to send this thread over to my wife.

9

My oldest daughter had a hell of a time with ear infections. She was born in 2001, and it seemed like she had continuous ear infections until she had the tubes at about 3 years old, including multiple perforated eardrums, and honest-to-God bleeding from the ears. COMPLETELY different kid after the surgery. Recovery took about 4 hours and she was completely fine thereafter.

About a year later she had the T&A to help with some sleep apnea and sleep coughing that was causing her to throw up in her bed about 3 times a week. Again, she was a totally different kid after the surgery. I highly recommend all three procedures for any kid that is going through these types of problems.

AuntiPam what year was it when your son had his adenoidectomy? I ask only because when my daughter had her T&A, it was an outpatiet procedure. She was home an hour after the surgery and slept the rest of the day in a fort/nest she constructed on the living room floor. When I had my tonsils out in about 1975, I know there was an overnight hospital stay, but I don’t think that’s generally true anymore.

10

Probably not. This was early 1970’s. They kept him for two days. They must have been glad to discharge him. One of the nurses said he and a little friend had been climbing up on the windowsills, and the windows were the kind that open.

11

QKid had his adenoids out in May, just after his 5th birthday. He was the second patient of the day, so no time to get cranky about not eating/drinking, but enough time to start to feel anxious about the procedure. (I’ve got a worrier.) The nurses gave him something along the lines of valium about 15 minutes before it was time to head to the OR, so he was very happy and relaxed by the time he was on the operating table. I think I was called to the recovery room about 30 minutes after I left the OR, when they were just starting the IV and suchlike. We hung out in recovery long enough for him to wake up fully and drink some juice. We were home again in time for lunch. It was very quick, and QKid never reported any pain. The biggest issue was that we were supposed to keep him relatively quiet for 2 weeks to prevent the stitches from bursting. The difference in his hearing was enormous and immediate. It was truly amazing. I’d so do it again.

12

I had an adnoidectomy when I was in 2nd grade. (I had tubes in my ears in 1st grade and one removed in 3rd grade). I don’t remember much pain. I think it helped but it was a LONG time ago. Still have my tonsils.

Brian

13

I had to take Spike to the pediatrician this afternoon. (RSV is making the rounds a daycare.) I told her about the proposed adenoidectomy. She agreed it would be a good idea. She also mentioned one thing that made me go “Bwah?”

She said that since Spike is only seven months, there was a good chance his adenoids might grow back. Apparently, they keep growing until you’re six.

Anyhow, Mrs. Magill will be taking him to the follow up visit next week. I’ll let them talk.

14

Update - I wasn’t quite clear in my last post. Spike’s regular pediatrician was on vacation when I took him, so he saw her partner. Mrs. Magill took Spike to see his regular pediatrician last week. She suggested asking the ENT to do be conservative, and do an exploratory while Spike was knocked out for the ear tubes.

Spike went in this morning for the ear tubes and the exploratory. The ENT took a direct look at the adenoids and declared them “medium sized”, so they stayed. Hopefully, this will cut down on the ear infections and we won’t have the speech issues that plague his big brother.