I was listening to a radio doctor way back when, and a caller said that his son had a uvula that was really large, and was irritating him no end. Congenital, not acute. When he went to quite a number of doctors to see about getting it reduced, surgically, they all refused. The boy was desperate, but the doctors said something like it being unethical, or something similar to that, and the radio doc agreed.
So, I was remembering when I had some kind of laryngitis, pharyngitis, something like that, and my uvula was swollen, or mucus would hang up there, it almost drove me mad. Then I began to think: If we can give a woman large boobs (which I’m all for, btw) just because she wants to look hot, how come it’s unethical/illegal to reduce a uvula, which would save a person a LOT of grief? This was in the mid-90s, if the rules have changed since.
hmmmm…is it of more recent vintage, that it was made more acceptable? IIRC, that was basically all of the story, and the doctor said that the kid should just leave it.
Oh, it was about 1 inch long.
Are you sure it was “unethical” and not “unnecessary” - as in, “insurance won’t pay for it unless you come through the ER with your uvula cutting off your airway, so it’s hard to find a doctor to do it because it’s hard to get people to pay out-of-pocket for it?”
Well, the doc may have said unnecessary, but, iirc, he was emphatic that it was something not to be done, and there was no mention of insurance or payment. I was struck so that I did note that the father seemed desperate, and I marvelled that the doctor/med community would be so callous, so I’m sure that cost wasn’t mentioned.
Best wishes,
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Wait! I just remembered that he said something like no reputable doctor would do it. something like that. Again, this was mid 90s.
I had uvuloplasty about 7 years ago. It is done all the time by ear, nose, and throat surgeons for various reasons especially sleep apnea. However, it is a fairly serious surgery with a small risk serious complications including death. I know other people that have had it done as well and it was done in the 90’s. Either you misheard the call or the doctors didn’t think think the situation was serious enough to warrant such invasive throat surgery with the chance of complications. Mine worked out fine BTW after two weeks of bed rest. I don’t even notice it gone.
I believe it can bleed like crazy, get infected, rip through stitches, etc.
I had it snipped as an adult but in conjunction with some parts of my palate and tonsils, so I can’t say how complicated just a uvula removal is. My surgery was done under general, entailed an overnight stay in the hospital and I missed more than a week of work afterward – this was without any complications.
