Tonsillectomy for a 3 Year Old

My son had a tonsilectomy and adenoidectomy in October and he just turned 3 in March. We told him that he's having surgery to get his huge tonsils out and that he will get to drink all kinds of stuff and eat all the ice cream and popcicles he wanted afterwards. I'm not sure he really understood, but went along with it. We went to the surgical hospital, undressed him, put on his surgical gown and gave him Versed (sp?) to calm his nerves and make him loopy. They took him back to the preop room and gave him laughing gas and then they did the IV. It took them longer to do the IV than it did the surgery. When he came out of the surgery, he was out of it, but was aware enough to know that his mom and dad weren't there. His IV was in his foot which he HATED and his mouth and throat were naturally sore. He's a thumb sucker, so this presented a major problem. Now our son didn't do well coming out of anstesia, but some do just fine. He uses his thumbsucking as a calming mechanisim and since he couldn't feel it, he got REALLY upset. When the numbness started wearing off, he did well and started eating Jello and drinking juice. After he got a wet diaper, we were discharged and sent home. Surgery was at 7 and we were home by 1.

Now recovery at home wasn't so bad. Jackson ate sausage pizza for lunch the same day. He was given Tylenol w/Codiene for the pain, but we only administered it like 5 times since rather than helping alleviate the pain and help him sleep it just wired him. We ended up staying on top of it with just OTC Tylenol and it worked much better! Days 1&2 weren't bad, 3 & 4 was a little more hairy, but nothing unbearble just as if he were a little crankier than normal. My best advise to keep pain at bay and speed healing, push liquids and administer the Tylenol on schedule religiously, even at night. Even if he acts like he doesn't need it, administer it; it's easier to stay on top of it than to play catchup later and will keep him comfortable. By day 5-7 he'll be pretty close back to his normal self. They are so much more reslelient than we are and deal better with it than we do. Expect to be home with him for a week and limit where all you take him too during that week.

If you have any other questions, PM me and I'll answer anything I can since I just recently went through this with a child about the same age.

He'll be OK and he'll feel so much better afterward and not be near as sick.

i'm not sure how the doctor can be so convinced of what level of medication will be necessary for THIS child. all kids are different, and while some will do fine on just tylenol, some will need more. i think it's a shame that we have a large plethora of pain management medications available and doctors refuse to prescribe them, even refusing to consider them in advance.
my kids did need the full 7 days to recover fully, although only the first couple of days were really rough. they had tylenol with codeine which helped. we explained the surgery and that their throats would be sore afterwards, but didn't spend too much time trying to set them up for it as that in itself would have produced a lot of anxiety. my kids both had a really rough time coming out of the anesthesia, that was probably the worst of it. steel YOURSELF for that, it's hard on moms!
just be prepared to tend him lovingly for a few days afterwards (and there is a sweetness to the bonding that occurs during these times too) and be prepared to advocate (fiercely if necessary!) on behalf of your child. the medical establishment operates on broad guidelines, YOU are the one who knows your individual child, and when it's time for them to look at him personally, not what's appropriate for 'most.'
khairete
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Both of my sons had their tonsils out when they were three. My daughter had hers out at 7. All three children were different experiences. My oldest son had his tonsils out first. We got home from the hospital and he found his Star Wars Light Saber and wanted us to play with him. We had to keep him still and quiet which was the hard part for us. I gave him tylenol every 4 hours for the first few days even though he didn't ask for it. My daughter was in bed for 7 days and barely moved. My youngest son did not wake up well after the surgery. At home he was up and about after a couple of days.
The most important thing to remember is to stay ahead of the pain! The Tylenol worked but it is important to stay on top of giving the medication every 4 hours. We stocked up on Italian Ices and popsicles (nothing red). My youngest really liked scrambled eggs the first few days.
Good luck with this. I think it is scary for you than him. He will be put to sleep and not really know what happened.

My son his tonsils/adenoids out right after his 4th birthday. They gave us a pink syrup (I can't remember the name) to give him for pain for the first 2 days. Those first couple days were rough (but the medicine helped a lot). The rest of the week we had a hard time keeping him from running / jumping around. He was still eating very soft foods, but he felt so much better. After a week you'd never know he had surgery (except he didn't snore at night, he slept SO much better and his huge tonsils (they were not quite kissing tonsils) didn't interfere with swallowing anymore. His were not infected (he never got lot's of ear infections) - they were just so big they were mostly an obstruction. Most kids bounce back very very quickly from this.

My daughter had her tonsils & adenoids out 2 months after her 3rd birthday. She was always very responsive to books. Someone recommended to me that I order a book called, "Goodbye Tonsils" by Juliana Lee Hatkoff & Craig Hatkoff (http://www.amazon.com/Good-bye-Tonsils-Picture-Puffin-Boo.... This book was WONDERFUL for my daughter. So much so that I recommended that our ENT put it in their waiting room! He now recommends it to all his young patients. =0) We read it a bazillion times before her surgery. However, I didn't tell her about her surgery until about 3 days before because I didn't want her to feel anxious for weeks and weeks. After all, 3 days to a toddler feels like forever! We went over and over what would happen and how she was going to feel afterwards (I left out the adenoid part because I knew she wouldn't understand about those). The day before, she and I went to the grocery store and she got to pick out all of her own popsicles, jello, pudding, yogurt, soup, etc. She got a big kick out of that and the fact that she didn't have to share any of that special stuff with us or her baby brother. =0) She got to take her favorite blanket and stuffed friend to the hospital with her. And we got there a few minutes early and she went to the gift shop and got to pick a special "surgery friend", too. She picked a pink stuffed piggy. She did fantastic. She kept referencing Juliana in her goodbye tonsils book. Like the gown, she said, "just like Juliana had to wear, Mommy"! We had the book with us at the hospital too. They gave her the loopy juice drink and that really REALLY relaxed her and made her very silly. After it kicked in real good, they came to get her in a red wagon. She got to take her blanket and stuffed friends with her. The whole procedure took about 20 minutes. She woke up a little confused and whiney. But, I was able to lay in the bed with her and she dozed on and off. They even put a hospital mask on her new stuffed piggy. LOL So, these people really are good with kids. =0) She was able to go home after she drank and kept it down. She did cough up a little blood, but they said it was totally normal and not to be alarmed. They main thing that bothered her most was the IV in her hand. It was wrapped up really good and she really wanted it out. I just reminded her that Juliana had an IV too and it would come out as soon as the doctor said it was ok. We took her home and she had an "after surgery" gift basket waiting on her. =0) Full of new quiet activities and toys. That really perked her up. The medicine that they sent home with us really did work for her. We gave it to her right on the nose the entire time. She only needed it for two nights. She was in terrific spirits starting that evening and was great the next day. It was actually hard to keep her calm for the 7 days! She was only out of daycare for one full week. She recovered very well. It wasn't near as bad as I had thought it was going to be. These little ones bounce back SO fast. =0) Her voice was a little nasaly and high pitched and squeaky for a few days. I wasn't prepared for that, but it went away as she healed. It also took a while for the smell of the anesthesia to come off of her. It was in her hair for like 2 days, I swear! LOL But, other than that.......I don't think there was anything else I noticed. I highly recommend the book. Especially if your little one is really responsive to books. I believe it made a world of difference for our daughter. She's now 6 and about to finish kindergarten with PERFECT ATTENDANCE. =0) That surgery was the best thing we ever did. I'd do it over again in a heartbeat!

My son (3 years old) had his tonsils and adenoids out about a month ago. It is a rough surgery......he woke up crying and in a lot of pain. They gave him some meds and a slushy which helped. We spent the night in the hospital and they gave him vicodin every 6 hours. He was out of it for most of the day. It takes awhile for the surgery meds to wear off. The next day we went home and continued the vicodin (liquid, child-size dose) for a few more days. Then swiched to just tylanol for the rest of the week. By the end of the week he was back to his self, running and playing. The first few days/nights are the hardest. He would wake up in the middle of the night a few times when his meds were wearing off. Just give him lots of cold treats, soft foods, cuddles, read lots of books and rent his favorite movie.

I had my tonsils out when I was 3 years old. I almost died. I had been sent home after the tonsillectomy. But the scab broke and I was hemorraging profusely. I was rushed to the hospital and given blood transfusion. I remember waking up and seeing the IV bottles. I recommend NO Tonsillectomy at that young age. Why is this even being considered? If your child is sick often perhaps it is allergies. Try going off all cow's milk products which are very mucus forming and see if his health improves. Get another Doctor's opinion. AF

My son had his tonsils and adenoids taken out when he was 3. We did not spend the night in the hospital and were sent home an hour after surgery with a prescription for Tylenol with Codeine. The biggest advice I can give is keep him hydrated. By drinking a lot of fluids and eating popsicles, the scabs in the throat stay moist. It is when they dry up that there is a lot of pain. My son only took regular Tylenol during the day and was fine. It was night at when he was sleeping that he would wake up screaming from pain because of how dry his throat was. We would give him the Tylenol with Codeine before bed and during the night if he woke up. It does take about 7 days to fully recovery. My son was not in pain that long. He stopped complaining of pain during the day on day 3. He woke up at night in pain for about 5 nights. It wasn't until day 6 or 7 though that he was fully comfortable eating food. As for preparing him, our doctor's office made a video of a patient going in to get her tonsils out right in the hospital where he had it done. We watched the video a few days before his surgery. It prepped him to see where he would be going and what would be happening. Coming out of the anesthesia was the worst for me to see. He just didn't understand what was going on and was crying. It took him a little while to start settling down. He wasn't in pain from the meds they gave him. It was more about not understanding. My 1 year old just had tubes in his ears and he came out of the anesthesia the same way...crying.

Good luck with everything!! My biggest advice again is keep him hydrated!!

When my daughter had her tonsils and adenoids removed, the nurses at the hospital were really good with her. I didn't explain anything about the pain and I think it would have just given her unneeded anxiety. Everything that was done at the hospital , from changing to a hospital gown to "coloring" the mask with a special crayon that gave it a nice smell was explained very well by the nurses. They really made her comfortable and I think that is really important because she trusted them. She slept pretty well after and jerked up one time like she was suddenly awake but then went back to sleep. They eventually slowly woke her up by stroking her arms and talking to her. She was sore and would cry at night for a few days but I think she was feeling better after 3 or 4 days. Popsicles helped a lot--not ice cream. The cold of the ice helps soothe a sore throat. I had prescription pain meds but it didn't seem to be doing anything so Tylenol would probably work just as much. She also drank really cold Pediasure for the week until she was able to swallow regular foods.