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Worried because her toddler was a snorer and
a mouth-breather, a New Jersey mom visited an
otolaryngologist—an ear, nose and throat
specialist. “His tonsils are enormous!” the
specialist said. The youngster became one of
about 500,000children each year in the U.S. who
undergo tonsillectomy—an operation to remove
the tonsils. It was done almost routinely in
the era before effective antibiotics. “But
today we’re much more selective about who
benefits from the procedure,” says Michael
A.Tavill, M.D., an otolaryngologist and head
of pediatric ear, nose and throat surgery at
Monmouth Medical Center, who does about 500 tonsillectomies
a year. The tonsils are masses of lymph-type
tissue onboth sides of the back of the throat.
The adenoids, which are often removed along with
tonsils, are similar masses behind the nose.
Both are now believed to play an infection-fighting
role. But when they become infected and enlarged
themselves, they can cause fever, sore throat,
painful swallowing and sleep problems. If this
happens to your child a lot, it may be time to
consider surgery. These days, Dr.Tavill explains,
tonsillectomy is done on an outpatient basis.
The operation takes about half an hour, and the
child is in the surgery unit as little as two
hours before and two hours after. A week of recuperation
follows, with pain medication.“ And the
old theory of sticking with soft foods or clear
liquids for a week or two is out the window,” says
Dr. Tavill.
Sore throats became such a sorry routine for
Troy Baldwin of Little Silver, now 8, that his
pediatrician greeted each call with, “Oh
no, Troy, not again!” Then, two years ago,
the boy’s tonsils were removed by Monmouth
Medical Center’s Michael A. Tavill, M.D.
(right).The operation’s side effect? Literary
inspiration. With a little help from his mom,
Diane, Troy wrote My Tonsil Story, a step-by-step
account of his experience, complete with pictures.
Conceived as a way to tell his friends what he’d
been through, the narrative features several
moments of high drama (semi-awake on anesthesia
after the operation, Troy yells, “I can’t
deal with this. I want my tonsils back!”).
But mostly it recounts the experience in simple
terms perfect for helping other young tonsillectomy
patients understand what they face. That’s
why Dr. Tavill is looking for a pharmaceutical
sponsor to help publish the book in an interactive
form that would allow young readers to follow
Troy’s story and also record their own. “We
know that kids recover faster when they understand
what they’re going through,” says
Dr. Tavill. “Troy’s done a great
piece of work—something that I think helped
him a lot, and that will help many other kids
too.” And the verdict on the operation
itself? “It absolutely gave him back his
life,” says Diane. Apparently that is now
enough; Troy reports that he no longer wants
his tonsils back.
Your pediatrician can help you decide if your
child’s symptoms warrant investigating
the surgical removal of tonsils and adenoids.
Signs that the procedures might be needed, says
otolaryngologist Michael A. Tavill, M.D., include:
recurrent bouts of tonsillitis or strep throat
that causes throat soreness and sometimes fever,
rash, ear pain and/or decreased energy and appetite
which, even with antibiotics, interfere with
school and other regular activities• obstructive
sleep apnea, marked by heavy snoring or other
breathing difficulties, daytime sleepiness or
excess irritability. The procedure’s benefits
must be weighed against the inconvenience and
discomfort of surgery and recuperation and the
slight risk that general anesthesia always brings.
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Otolaryngology (ENT)
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