Tonsillectomy Update

One of my worst moments being a mother to date has to have been when my son had his tonsils removed. Actually there were two separate moments during that time that stick out in my head. My son was 2 1/2 but had some mild sleep apnea due to his enlarged tonsils. So we made the decision to have his tonsils removed rather than wait and see if he grew into them. We chose a partial tonsillectomy using a microdebrider which is a powered rotary shaving device with continuous suction often used during sinus surgery. This procedure entails eliminating the obstructive portion of the tonsil while preserving the tonsillar capsule. A natural biologic dressing is left in place over the pharyngeal muscles, preventing injury, inflammation, and infection. The procedure results in less post-operative pain, a more rapid recovery, and perhaps fewer delayed complications. All of that was true but it was still a rough ride.

My son had his surgery in December. Two weeks before Christmas so that he would have plenty of time to recover before the holiday. Me I am still recovering but that is besides the point. It was an outpatient surgery so we went in early in the morning and we were back home by 2 pm. The thing I remember most that still breaks my hurt is my son coming back from the surgery and saying to me "It hurts - ow Mommy - kiss it make it better." As a mother you really want to believe that your kisses have that much power. You want to believe that if your child is ever suffering any kind of pain you can kiss it and make it all go away. For those occasional bumps and bruises it does work. Mostly because the little guy thinks it does and that's all that matters. For the big stuff though you feel helpless. I kissed his throat 100 times that day and it still didn't take his pain away. He kept wanting me to kiss it though so I did. Not only that but even these days I still have the power to make the little hurts go away. That first moment though is forever etched in my memory. He actually did great with the surgery because by the time we got home and loaded him up with some ice cream and Popsicles he was great. He even ate solid foods that night like there was nothing wrong.

The next day he acted like there was nothing wrong. Of course he was still in some discomfort but he was a trooper about it. The surgeon called us and was amazed at how well he was doing. He did make a comment though that prepared me for the days ahead which was "It will get worse before it gets better." I wanted to think he didn't know what he was talking about it but I had a feeling he did. Sure enough day 4 was his rough day. That was the day everything was healing and bothering him. That was my hardest day as a mother. The day when nothing I did was right, nothing I did helped him, and he was just as frustrated as I was. I remember when he finally went to sleep that night my husband called me and I told him that I just had my worst "mother" day to date and would very much like never to repeat it. I am sure I will have other challenging moments but honestly to date that has been the worst.

Now, I am grateful we had the procedure done. He sleeps so much better and wakes up 100 times more restful. He has always been a pleasant child but now he is even more pleasant and happy go lucky! If anyone is considering the procedure (especially on a child under 3 which they don't like to do in most cases) I would highly recommend talking to or finding a surgeon that will do a partial tonsillectomy using a microdebrider. The risk of the tonsils growing back were about 5% according to my doctor but in my opinion the benefits far outweigh the risk. I know my sons' recovery would have been alot worse had we not chosen that route.