Taking out the tonsils is still one of the most common procedures done in clinics every year. If you have enough problems with your tonsils, it probably makes sense to take them out. The most common reasons to take out tonsils in Marrero center on:
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Infections
It can mean that you are getting many episodes of tonsillitis, where they are repeatedly getting swollen, red, and drippy. If you have enough of those episodes, it might make sense to take them out. Sometimes your doctor may recommend a tonsillectomy for chronic or severe infections. So even if you only have one or two episodes, if they are bad and last long enough, certainly if you get an abscess, it might make sense to take them out.
Obstructive symptoms or blockage type issues
These issues may interfere with your sleep, thus causing poor sleep quality, swallowing problems where you are gasping or choking or having trouble getting things down, speech issues, which are very muffled and hard to understand.
- Chronic mouth breathing can also lead to changes in facial development. So in kids, tonsillectomy helps prevent growth and development issues of the jaws.
- Some rare reasons to take out the tonsils would be tonsil stones or a lump or mass and concern for cancer.
What should you expect during a tonsillectomy?
The procedure is for the back of your throat, which is sensitive, especially for patients who are wide awake. Once you are asleep under general anesthesia, it is a pretty straightforward process that takes 10 or 15 minutes. The surgeon will reach the back of the throat and peel the tonsil out from the underneath muscle. Once that is done, you will have an open raw area in the back of your throat that needs to heal.
Tonsillectomy post-op guidelines
Most people who get their tonsils out go home the same day. However, minor children under three years old or people with sleep apnea and sleep issues may need to stay overnight.
Once you get home, the main issue that people deal with is a sore throat and trouble swallowing. Children can go through with popsicles and ice cream because cold things that melt can be soothing and help with the swelling. Within a few days, you get to soft foods like mashed potatoes and grits at room temperature and then to semi-solids like that are slightly lukewarm. Eventually, you get back to solid foods that are hot.
Although some patients require pain medications, most people can dramatically taper down on the drugs after the first week because the pain, discomfort, trouble swallowing, and difficulty sleeping last only for that first week. Most people can go back to school or work without significant strenuous physical activity by the second week. For children, this may mean no swimming, no trampolines, and no P.E. class. This means no sports, no working out, no swinging sledgehammers, or doing construction for adults. But if you have a desk job or go to school and sit most of the time, that is fine.
Visit ENT of New Orleans to book a tonsillectomy session that will eliminate all your concerns.