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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 500,000
children 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 on both 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.
A young author’s
tonsil tome
Sore throats became such a sorry routine
for Troy Baldwin of Little Silver, now 8
(left, above), 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.
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Time for
a tonsillectomy?
 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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