Summer offers ideal opportunity to get tonsil removal

Gottlieb Memorial HospitalJun 25 2014

Pool pass, sports camp, visiting relatives and getting tonsils removed are all normal activities for children during the summer months.

"Kids need from 10 days to two weeks recovery time, so summer offers an ideal opportunity to get tonsil removal out of the way without interfering with school or winter holidays," says Laura Cozzi, MD, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital in Melrose Park, Illinois.

"Improving breathing, eliminating snoring and reducing colds and ear infections are usually the reasons for having tonsils removed -- usually nothing life threatening or urgent -- so the surgery can be arranged when it is most convenient," Cozzi added.

Approximately 500,000 children will get a tonsillectomy this year. Here are health tips from Dr. Cozzi:

• Snoring and disrupted sleep could be a sign that your child -- or even yourself, as an adult -- needs a tonsillectomy. "This lack of healthful sleep can cause irritability, poor performance in school and even in very rare cases, developmental delays," she said.

• A child's age is an important factor, with many surgeries being performed between ages 3 and 7. "Tonsils usually shrink between the ages of 7 and 8. If they don't, many parents of these school-age children want them removed to prevent existing or recurring health problems," Cozzi said.

• The surgery is now an outpatient procedure. "Many parents remember staying in a hospital overnight as children after having tonsils removed but, today, the surgery takes about one hour and children go home to continue their recovery, which is less traumatic and preferred by parents and young patients," Cozzi explained.

• Symptoms that could spell tonsil trouble include: regularly breathing through the mouth; loud snoring and awakenings during sleep; repeated ear infections or sore throat; persistent runny nose or cough; white spots on the tonsils or foul odor and enlarged tonsils.

• Though parents may promise their kids they can have lots of ice cream after surgery, liquids are more important to avoid dehydration, Cozzi pointed out. "But my patients like the idea that they can watch TV, play video games and surf the net more than usual, during their recovery," she added.