What is That Bump Behind the Tongue?

Typically in young children, I often have worried parents ask me what that bump is behind the tongue. This bump kind of looks like the picture shown here. The good news is that it is NORMAL and is called the epiglottis. An epiglottis is the "throat flap" the helps prevent food and liquids from going down the wrong way. Although occasionally the epiglottis can even be seen in adults looking in the mouth, this anatomic structure is typically most easily seen in cooperative children. …

3/06/2019 0

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If a LEGO is Swallowed, How Long Does it Take to be Pooped Out?

This is one of those published research papers I had to wonder if it was for real or not... but it appears to be genuine in spite of the jocular tone of the article. Published in the Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health , researchers swallowed small LEGO pieces and then monitored bowel movements to determine how long it took before it got pooped out. The general point of the study being that children often swallow toy objects and as long as it doesn't get stuck in the throat (and lack…

11/28/2018 0

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Drinking Honey Reduces Throat Damage after Swallowing Button Battery

Button batteries swallowed by children cause significant damage to the lining of the throat and esophagus and has the potential to cause significant swallowing difficulties both in the short-term due to mucosal injury as well as long-term issues from scarring. Serious damage can occur within 2 hours of battery ingestion and deaths have also occurred due to button battery ingestion. As such, any intervention that can be done to minimize mucosal damage from the moment of swallow until the butto…

11/24/2018 0

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Swallowed Coin Removal without Sedation Using a Foley in a Young Child

A blog subscriber recently informed me about a video showing a coin being removed blindly from a young child using only a foley catheter without any sedation. Watch video  above... This blind removal technique basically involves passing a small foley catheter through the mouth and PAST where the coin is located within the esophagus, typically behind the voicebox. The foley catheter balloon which would then be located past where the coin would be, is then inflated with a syringe. After ballo…

11/23/2018 0

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Ear Tube Placement in Kids without Sedation

Our office routinely performs  traditional  ear tube placements in the office, without sedation, starting from the age of 12 years. For those younger than 12 years,  ear tube placement  typically requires general anesthesia, not for pain reasons, but because in order for the procedure to be performed safely, the child has to be totally still. However, a new device called Hummingbird TTS allows for the possibility for ear tube placement without sedation in younger kids. Why? The device allows …

11/19/2018 0

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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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