Just when I think I speak fluent American, something like this comes among.
Wikipedia:
A tympanostomy tube (also known as a grommet, T-tube, ear tube, pressure equalization tube, vent, PE tube ormyringotomy tube)
His Eustachian tubes kept blocking up, causing hearing loss.
My boy had them removed when he was four. It was a bit weird when the surgeon came out to give us the “all done everything went well” talk and kept marveling at how massively inflamed his tonsils and adenoids were. Like, she removed nearly four pounds of tissue and the kid only weighed thirty-five pounds. I wasn’t too sure what to say to that, or how it compared to average weight of removed tissue, I just nodded a lot. They never tested him for any apnea, and I’d never noticed him having those problems, just too many ear infections and colds and such.
He got a brand new tough dino beanie baby to accompany him into surgery, the nurse removed it as soon as he was asleep and had it waiting for him in recovery, which was very sweet. As soon as he awoke from the anesthetic they gave him a popsicle, which just happened to be red. Fifteen minutes later he was suddenly overcome with nausea and barfed up the belly full of blood he had swallowed during the procedure. In his mind the red was from the popsicle and it was years before he ever ate a red popsicle again.
He had quite a bit of pain for the next week or so, complicated by the fact that he was too little for pills so they’d given me pain medication in syrup form for him. The codeine, or something in it, stung his raw throat when he swallowed it, so he didn’t want to take it. Trying to convince a cranky, sore 4 y.o. that a little bit of sting now for lots of pain relief later is a good trade wasn’t very fun. He mostly wanted to be cuddled and read to while sipping cool water, so that’s what we did.
I’m sure your grandson will come through just fine and dandy.
I’ve been following his progress Eliahna, and knowing you’d have the Dope on what to expect, but I didn’t want to annoy you with a PM just yet! We only just got the news yesterday, and you were still in hospital at that stage…but sounds like your little bloke is going great guns!
Oh god…Mister 3 is already a bit of a spazoid, but does tend to be cranky in the early mornings after a (supposedly) good night’s sleep. Please tell me this won’t ramp him up even MORE???
Hey, thanks for all the advice folks. Cheers.
My daughter had hers out when she was 8. After the surgery was the very first time in her life she ever vomited. Throwing up when you’ve just had your tonsils out is not pleasant. Other than that she came through it well. Lots of popsicles and Jello helped. I remember playing Spyro the Dragon with her on PlayStation for hours and hours afterward. It kept her mind off the pain.
I have never had mine out, so I have no first hand knowledge.
children can be especially prone to middle ear infections (otitis media) due to poor draining of the Eustachian tubes. fluid builds up in the middle ear and infection takes hold. the “old way” of dealing with this was having the tonsils and adenoids removed. The “new way” is putting tiny tubes/grommets in the eardrum to prevent/ease blockage and fluid buildup.
My son had them removed when he was eight… this was 11 years ago. It was out patient surgery that took a couple of hours, and then a few more in recovery. He threw up blood for a bit but otherwise wasn’t that much worse for wear. Be prepared that he may want to spit out blood for a few days or so. He actually tried out for and made a competitive soccer team before he was actually supposed to. He later confessed that he had bleeding in his mouth at the time but it didn’t slow him down.
Full disclosure… the reason he had the procedure wasn’t because of apnea like your grandson… it was suspected cancer (the suspicions were right). They may have been more aggressive than normal due to that. The bottom line though is that it wasn’t that big of a deal to make it through the surgery and recovery. A few hours watching your kid throw up blood in the recovery, and a few more days of them spitting up blood while taking it easy at home and eating soft foods. In the over all scheme of things it isn’t a very big deal.
Just to add… my son is now a very healthy college student, playing D1 soccer.
My son had tonsils and adenoids out at two due to sleep apnea.
He felt a bit sorry for himself while coming around from the anaesthetic but within an hour was running around the hospital jumping on beds and charming nurses. Maybe we got lucky (and he’s always quickly back to action after getting hurt) but it shouldn’t be too bad.
The operation was last year and also in a good children’s hospital.
What load of crap ! I am Jewish and there are 4 kids in our family we not one of us had this done at 8 days old !
Whoosh… Can you think of anything else that Jewish boys may have removed at eight days old? Maybe, just maybe this may be a reference.
Or, maybe the Mohel just has really bad aim.
Most surgeons don’t recommend ice cream post-op anymore because it (and other milk products) cause mucous production, which does very, very bad things for recovery. Referred ear pain on days 2-3 is normal, and so is vomiting (which is painful and looks much scarier than it actually is, because you vomit blood and scabs).
Kids bounce back very quickly; try not to worry!
I had my tonsils and adenoids removed as a young child. Turned out to be nothing traumatic. All I remember are:
Being awakened when it was still dark out, for the drive to the hospital.
The smell of ether, which I still remember to this day.
The worst sore throat ever, afterward. I couldn’t even eat ice cream, which had been promised.
Had my adenoids removed when I was 7. It wasn’t bad, although I do remember lying on the operating table with the doctor putting the anesthetic mask on me…that scared the hell out of me. But the recuperation wasn’t too painful. I missed two weeks of school, which was a nice little bonus.
Have not read the thread but came to say all the best to you and yours. I wish my folks had the ability to afford the removal of my tonsils as a wee one. Probably will be the death of me as I have tonsillitis too many times to count. My doc says tonsil removal just isn’t done nor safe for adults.
I had a high threshold for pain, or the anesthetic had just not worn off yet, because when they told me I could have what I wanted after the operation I asked for a pork chop (my favorite food at the time). Then they said I actually only had a choice between ice cream and scrambled eggs.
I don’t remember ever being in much pain from the operation really, but I had been having earaches and sore throats for months before they finally took out the tonsils and adenoids so I guess I just didn’t notice a difference.
Different kids will just react differently, you probably have a good idea of how tough or sensitive yours is. Just make sure they know what’s going to happen ahead of time so they’ll be ready for it.
I had the op done in high school - don’t remember the reasons, but in the late 50s this was a common operation.
The adenoids were not so much of a problem, some nosebleed but not too uncomfortable.
But the throat pain was terrible, I could barely swallow water, and when they offered me the typical ice cream, I couldn’t bear the thought of trying to swallow it. When my parents came to pick me up after the operation, they wanted to ask me all kinds of questions, and I had to croak out that it hurt me too much to talk. Whether this was the tonsillectomy or some side effect of the operation (throat tube to keep airway open?) I don’t know, but from my experience I would think twice about having the op done as a “routine thing” unless there were serious implications of leaving things untouched.
Perhaps younger children are less susceptible to the pain, or better able to ignore it. In my early teens, I was definitely uncomfortable:(
And if it was supposed to cure sleep apnea, it didn’t work. I now use a CPAP machine.
Get a new doc. I had my tonsils out when I was 35 (adenoids had been removed as a little kid), and while it wasn’t pleasant, and while my doc went over the potential issues with a fine-tooth comb (including the increased chance of bleeding and issues with anaesthesia because I’m a redhead), she didn’t balk at doing the surgery at all. In fact, she took one look in my mouth and asked if I wanted it done the next week.
Best decision I ever made.
My oldest and middle sons had their tonsils out the same day (a Friday). Both had them out due to constant strep. Luckily the youngest has never been sick with anything more than a cold.
One threw up on me so I ended up wearing a scrub home.
Have a small garbage can/barf bag for the trip home. Have extra clothes for the child and something for an adult (no one wants to ride home in pukey clothes).
The boys ate lots of jello (no red jello, just to be on the safe side), mashed potatoes, ramen noodles, pudding and chicken soup. They spent the week-end alternating between sleeping and being on their pcs and were back in school 3 days after surgery.
I had my tonsils out when I was about 4 and my next older sister had her tonsils and adenoids taken at the same time. I think that was also when they put tubes in my ears.
So it turns out Mister Three got the award for the Biggest Tonsils of the Day at an outpatient visit yesterday! 
He has indeed been shoved to the top of the surgical list, and will be admitted within the next couple of weeks. He’ll be in hospital for three days according to the docs and will be on supplemental oxygen for the first 24 hrs at least. Assuming no complications, he’ll be on pain meds for a week, and a grumpy little camper.
Then he’ll need another sleep-study in a couple of months to see if the surgery has worked.
It’s funny…despite all the sleep and snoring issues, he’s never had tonsillitis nor is he prone to recurrent respiratory infections either. I guess he’s been lucky that way.
But we’re all girding our loins for some ‘interesting times’ in the next few weeks, that’s for sure.
Get a second opinion.
It is harder on adults, but it can be done if indicated. A friend had it done in her 30s and she said she had two weeks of hell afterward, but I think she felt it was worth it in the long run.
Mister Three had his surgery last Wednesday and is still in hospital. The surgery itself went very well, and the night of the surgery he had no snoring nor apneas, but the night after that his oxygen sats went down dramatically AND he was refusing all meds, food and water.
It didn’t help that the nursing staff were PINNING HIM DOWN to administer the pain meds every four hours, causing hysterical panic attacks in the little bloke, and of course him connecting medicine with food and water and avoiding the bloody lot.
Finally today, some bright nurse suggested giving him the meds per-rectum rather than orally. Fuck…it has taken FOUR DAYS of sheer horror for the kid for the medical staff to finally get it?? Anyway, after a little pill up his butt (and a visit from his big bro and me, big brother being the important one) Mister Three munged into some MacDonald’s chicken nuggets and drank a glass of water.
Really, WTF? What should have been a straightforward op with minimal complications has turned into a major bloody saga. And to be honest, I don’t think he NEEDS opiates. The way he was scooting around today during our visit, wrestling with his brother, coughing (with no pain), eating ‘sour worms’ with no ill-effects and of course the nuggets and stuff…just a paediatric Panadol (Tylenol) would suffice I reckon!
We’re hoping now he’s eating and stuff that he might be discharged tomorrow, but no guarantees. There’s still the deal with the drop in his oxygen saturations overnight to contend with, but that might be something for a future followup rather than something to be dealt with RIGHT NOW. And if truth be known, it might well be the bloody oxycontin and tramadol they’re shoving up his arse that are causing that too!
Big sigh…fingers crossed for tomorrow.
