Tonsillectomy Gone Well, Waiting For Scabs. A Side With Partial Scab. Rest Of The Scabs Off?

Posted on Sun, 24 Jun 2012

Question: Daughter is on day 11 after tonsillectomy. It has gone well. No bleeding. Threw up once at onset.
Waiting for scabs to fall off but not sure what to look for? She needs to fly to Colorado to get back to school.
Nurse Practitioner said one had fallen of (white/gray color now with a few red dots). Other side was partially gone but a solid white still yesterday. XXXXXXX on Ibuprofen every 6 hours or more. Took hydrocodone last night before bed. Slept 8 hours. Awakened and drank water twice in the night. Looked at her mouth again. Side with partial white scab is now yellowish XXXXXXX Does this mean the rest of the scab is off OR should I be concerned with color?

Answered by Dr. James M. Schwartz (1 hour later)

Hello ,

Thanks for the query. I am happy to help you with your question.

If this were my patient, the color alone would not be a concern. Rather, if the patient is feeling worse in any way, such as a fever, an increase in pain, swelling that makes it more difficult to swallow, increase in swollen glands, neck stiffness or other new symptoms of illness, then the color you describe would be included in the information offered the treating clinician. If none of those symptoms are present, then it is probably safe to continue to monitor. However, only your daughter's treating clinician can give you a definitive answer to this question, as this forum is informational only and does not provide actual medical advice.

I hope I have answered your query. I will be available to answer any follow up regarding this query. Once you are satisfied with all my answer, please accept it.

Best regards,
Dr. Schwartz

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T