Potential Increased Long-Term Risk of Diseases with Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy

The New York Times published a story on June 7, 2018 publicizing a Danish 2018 study that suggested that children under 9 years old undergoing tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy  are at increased long-term risk of respiratory, infectious, and allergic diseases. (Adults undergoing this surgery were not investigated.) All prior studies  evaluating for any adverse affects from surgical intervention looked more at any unusual immunological changes after surgery; these studies did not show a…

6/09/2018 0

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Video Showing What Surgery Day is Like from a Child's Perspective (Rated G)

Too often, parents expressed to me that online surgery videos like tonsillectomy and ear tubes were too "violent" for them to watch with their child. What is needed is a video that they can watch safely with their child that shows what will happen from a child's perspective, but rated G. No blood, no cuts, and no grossness included. Due to such requested demand, I finally created a video that is "kid-safe" showing what surgery day will be like for them thru their …

10/21/2017 0

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New Video on Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy (Re-mastered and in HD)

Back in 2007, I uploaded a video on tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy which may have been cutting age at the time, but much has changed in the YouTube world including the usage of high definition and wide-screen format. I also purchased a new microphone since than so narration does not quite sound like I'm yelling all the time. You can watch the "old" version tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy . And here are the two new videos refreshed for 2012 that have been remastered and in HD…

9/22/2014 0

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Does Removing the Adenoids Decrease Risk of Ear Infections? Yes...

A recent meta-analysis has determined that risk of recurrent ear infections is significantly reduced if adenoidectomy is performed in combination with ear tube placement as opposed to ear tube placement alone. When stratified by age, removing the adenoids was found particularly helpful in children older than 4 years of age. Combining results from over 15 studies containing over 71,000 children, the estimated rate of repeat ear tube placement for recurrent ear infections in children who…

12/03/2013 0

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T&A Helps with Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea (But Watchful Monitoring OK Too!)

Researchers published in the New England Journal of Medicine  that removal of the tonsils and adenoids absolutely helps with sleep apnea in kids along with improvements in behavior, quality-of-life, overall well-being as well as significantly greater reduction in symptoms... but apparently putting off surgery does no significant harm as well from a purely cognitive perspective. 464 children ages 5-9 years of age were randomly split into surgery or watchful monitoring groups (children with…

5/21/2013 0

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Singulair May Help Cure Mild Sleep Apnea in Children

Singulair  (generic montelukast as of Aug 2012) is a medication often prescribed for asthma as well as allergies and works by blocking the leukotriene receptor. This mechanism is different than that found in common allergy medications like claritin and benadryl which work by blocking the histamine receptor (anti-histamine). Singulair has also incidentally been found to possibly help reduce the size of tonsils and adenoids. Given this beneficial affect, singulair may be a helpful interventio…

8/07/2012 0

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