Tonsil Removal - Reading,PA

IMHO it's wise to wait unless there is a good reason to take them out . . . I'd tend to give more weight to the ENT than to the dentist.

When my cousin had his tonsils removed (as an adult) he had a rare adverse event - some sort of bleeding issue. From what I understand that's a pretty unusual thing to happen though.

Are her tonsil's bothering her, like sore throat or not breathing well when she is asleep? If not I would follow what the ENT suggested.

I had my tonsils removed when I was 5. You will hear that this is an operation for kids as the recovery time is quick. When I had my tonsil's removed I went in that morning and left that evening. When I got home my mother made spaghetti and I ate it with no problem. Plus you get lots of ice cream, jello and popsicles. :)

Your daughter will do fine but just make sure you aren't rushing it because of what the dentist said. His main concern could be with her breathing. Big tonsil's can obstruct breathing. Good luck!!

My son (3.5 at the time) had chronic ear infections. His tonsils were enormous and they were "kissing" (touching). He never once had strep throat, but he made an almost whistling kind of sound when he slept and he was an extremely restless sleeper. W/o recording him it was impossible to know, but the doctor's and I suspected that he would briefly stop breathing in his sleep. He was also very nasal in his speech and always had a runny nose or nasal drip. His ENT decided to put in a second set of tubes and suggested adnoid removal- which I agreed to. I had to request it, but just told him that I would like him to go ahead and take his tonsils out while he was under. My mom (PhD in nursing) really pushed me to suggest this and I trust her opinion/instinct more than any of my doctor's. When I brought it up to the ENT, he didn't really argue with me- he understood my concern. He did tell me that it wasn't absolutely medically necessary, but that he didn't object to it, as he felt it would benefit my son's overall health.
The recovery was million times better than I thought it would be. My son is a tank though- almost off the growth charts and as active as could be. About an hour after we got home from surgery, he tried to sneak outside to play with the neighbor kid (most kids would have still been sleeping off the anesthesia!). The hardest part of recovery was keeping him still/mostly in bed for three days. After about a week he was completely back to normal.
It has made a HUGE difference in him! His speech has improved, he is sleeping better and not a single ear infection (it has been about 18 mos since surgery). It was absolutely the right decision for him and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

My son was four when his were removed. He had large tonsils and adnoids. He also had sleep apena. Once removed, the sleep apena went instantly. This surgery is not as simple as everyone suggests. It was horrible for him. It took him four weeks to recover. But it was worth it!

Does she have a lot of sore throats or strep? Is she a loud breather or does she snore at night? Does she seem fatigued during the day? My 4 year old son is getting his adenoids taken out next week, but not the tonsils. Our ENT said tonsils are not usually removed anymore unless they are rather large and sleep apnea is a concern or chronic strep occurs. I would maybe go to another ENT and get a second opinion. Good luck!
HTH,
A.

My son had his tonsils removed at 2. The absolute BEST thing we ever did. His tonsils were almost touching when he opened his mouth really big. We never had problems with strep, tonsillitis, but he was a BIG snorer. I just happen to look in his mouth when he came up to me and opened his mouth to playfully scream. We got referred to an ENT and had them taken out like a week later.

The recovery time they said is 10 days and that's for it to be completely done with the scabs falling off. He went in at 7am and we were home by like 2 at the latest. Days 1-3 weren't bad, but day 4 he was really whiney due to the throat hurting. Now here comes my forewarning: Several of my friends who's little ones had their tonsils taken out, the anathesia that is used caused them to have night terrors that can last up to 6 months. That was BY FAR the worst thing coming out of the tonsil and adenoid removal.

Since we've had it done, he has been sick like once and it was with a cold and he is about to be 5. He sleeps better at night also. In fact I got so used to the snoring, that after they came out, I had to keep going in there and checking on him because I was worried that he wasn't breathing.

If you aren't comfortable with pushing for the removal when your dentist thinks they should come out, I would talk to her pediatrician. Our pedi is the one who suggested that he go to an ENT.

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM and I'll answer any and all questions that you might have.

We did not have to push, but our daughter had her tonsils and adnoids removed when she was 2. Her sleep apnea was gone instantly and she also started gaining weight rapidly because now she could actually get the food beyond her tonsils. Recovery wasn't too bad. She was back to herself within the week. I've been told the older you get, the worse the surgery is.

I would get a second opinion from another ENT. I see you are in Reading. If you are willing to make the drive, I'll give you the name of the pediatric ENT who did our daughter's surgery. He is THE.BEST.pediatriac.ENT.ever! I would drive a great distance to get to him. All the kids and parents love him and he's a great surgeon.

We went to an older ENT to talk about tubes for my 5 yr olds ears. He took one look at my son and said "he needs his toncils removed" he hadn't even gotten within 2 feet of my son at that point!! He asked if my son snored, he did, he asked if he fell asleep everytime we went somewhere in the car, he did. He said my son was not sleeping well and the bags under his eyes were proof, he needed those toncils removed so that he could breath properly while sleeping. What a difference that surgery made!! He obviously felt so much better after he'd recovered from the surgery. Recovery was a little rough on about days 4 and 5, but we did our best to keep him hydrated and medicated and we did OK.

Good Luck!!

If she gets strep throat repeatedly, has issues with apnea and snoring then yes, I would push for them to be removed. My oldest son, who is just a few weeks shy of 3, had his removed back in October. His were practiclly touching and he had the other issues I mentioned. Because he was under the age of 3, he had to stay overnight just for observation basically. Our ENT is amazing, she went over all the pro's and cons, of both having them removed and NOT having them removed. She also doesn't do the stitches, she cauterizes the incision point, which reduces the risk for bleeding and makes for a faster and smoother recovery. He was home the next morning. The first week he acted like nothing had happened, but the 2nd week you could tell, he was cranky and whiny, lowered appetite etc. It was interesting though, the night at the hospital, the nurses were just wowed by him. He was only an hour out of recovery and had already drank an entire 20oz bottle of gatorade. he was eating mashed potatos, chicken broth, scrambled eggs and pancakes for dinner that night, just hours after surgery. The nurses said they had 3 other kiddos there, same age and older than my son, who had been there 2 days because they wouldnt drink. they had different ENT's though. SO, now that i've written a novel. ask you ENT tons of questions, if he/she acts annoyed by that, find another ENT. do your research, dont' panic or freak out. and go with your gut!