Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy
Snoring and Sleep Apnea (Obstructive sleep apnea) affects up to 10-20% of children. Symptoms of OSA in children may consist of restless sleep, sweating during sleep, snoring, night terror, sleepwalking, bed wetting, daytime fatigue, hyperactive behavior and poor school performance due to an inability to concentrate. Some children only exhibit attention deficit and hyperactive behaviors. In addition, since OSA is a familial problem, it is commonly seen in siblings.
The cause of OSA in children is usually due to enlarged adenoid and Tonsils. However, nasal obstruction due to enlarged turbinates and jaw deformity can also be major contributors to developing OSA.
Diagnosis
An X-ray Lateral Neck or a CT image of the Nasopharynx will show enlarged adenoid. A flexible nasal Endoscopy also helps to make the diagnosis. A sleep study if it can be done is of great use.
Treatment by Surgery
The primary treatment for OSA in children is adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy, gives one hundred percent cure. Occasionally, turbinate reduction by radiofrequency may be performed in conjunction with this primary treatment form.
Methods
The duration of adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy is approximately 60 minutes and is performed under general anesthesia. The postoperative course consists of pain and swelling of the throat as well as reduction of food intake for a few days. Laser Tonsillectomy and Coblator tonsillectomy are routinely performed along with traditional dissection method. Microdebrider dissection of adenoid is also done recently.
