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Concered About A Tonsillectomy
hello, I'm wondering about my 8 year old daughter. She faces a Tonsillectomy and I'm concerned about the weight gain in children after this surgery, plus the in-effectiveness I'm hearing about withing a couple years of the surgery. I'm also hearing about the supposed emotional issues such as ADD after it. Is there a way to prevent all this, or should I avoid the surgery? She's a healthy kid, just dealing with recurring sore throat. What do you think?
posted on
Tue, 2 Mar 2010
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Wed, 8 Aug 2012
Answered on
Wed, 8 Aug 2012
Last reviewed on
Hello,
Misconception abounds about tonsillectomy. But all the rumours you may hear are baseless.
Recurrent sore throat in a kid is very debilitating, it hampers the health as well as the performance of the child. The most common cause of it in a kid is chronic tonsillitis.
It is due to streptococcal infection (usually). And the complications of chronic tonsillitis are so problematic later in life that going for tonsillectomy of your kid is "the Golden option".
Rest assured, there is no such problem after tonsillectomy. Instead, there is a marked improvement in the quality of life !
Regarding weight gain, you might have noticed that your child declines food during attacks of tonsillitis and that her appetite is decreasing day by day.
What happens after tonsillectomy is that the child has a feeling of wellness after a long period of time, so she enjoys eating. This leads to an apparent weight gain, which in fact is the return of her normal weight.
And yes, recurrent sore throat is depressing, not its treatment.
Don't you worry.
Go for tonsillectomy of your kid. She'll thank you for this decision of yours.
Take care.
Misconception abounds about tonsillectomy. But all the rumours you may hear are baseless.
Recurrent sore throat in a kid is very debilitating, it hampers the health as well as the performance of the child. The most common cause of it in a kid is chronic tonsillitis.
It is due to streptococcal infection (usually). And the complications of chronic tonsillitis are so problematic later in life that going for tonsillectomy of your kid is "the Golden option".
Rest assured, there is no such problem after tonsillectomy. Instead, there is a marked improvement in the quality of life !
Regarding weight gain, you might have noticed that your child declines food during attacks of tonsillitis and that her appetite is decreasing day by day.
What happens after tonsillectomy is that the child has a feeling of wellness after a long period of time, so she enjoys eating. This leads to an apparent weight gain, which in fact is the return of her normal weight.
And yes, recurrent sore throat is depressing, not its treatment.
Don't you worry.
Go for tonsillectomy of your kid. She'll thank you for this decision of yours.
Take care.
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Anonymous's Response
Anonymous's
Response
if it is really bothersome and the child is not thriving well wrt to her friends and peers then you can go for surgery. the other myths are trash and they are not true. your Pediatric ENT will help and educate you with all the facts.
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