I have a question about tonsillectomy in children.  I just found out this morning that my 4 year old has sleep apnea.  The reason for the sleep study is because his tonsils are big (kissing each other).  The ENT wants to do sleep study because he has no sore throat, no infection, no step throat, does not snore and in order to remove it, he has to have a reason.

I am still surprised with the diagnosis.  I used to watch him sleep but have never seen him stop breathing.  His behavior is normal for a 4 year old boy, he listen to his teacher, eats well and sleeps well.  His tonsils are big due to allergies (allergic to everything under the sun except cats and dogs).  I am just so worried about him.  He had his adenoids removed last year and it went well.  I know tonsillectomy is more painful and recovery time is longer.  Are they any other way to treat the apnea?

Has anyone been through this?

Thank you so much,

Anissa

It's interesting that they did a sleep study to look for a reason to remove the tonsils. As he gets older, he will be much more susceptible to virus like strep throat and tonsilitis and that may be why they want to remove them now, before he has to endure those. Also, small children recover much quicker from surgeries than adults or even teenagers.  

If it were me, I would probably do it, but only if it is bothersome to him. If they aren't bothering him (and his oxygen levels are good), then I'd be inclined to leave them be until he is feeling better. There is some research slowly coming out that nasal allergy sprays are actually helping with the swelling of tonsils and adenoids and alleviating some apnea.  Might be worth asking about. I'd rather have the surgery than daily drugs, though, personally.

Tiffany...Mom to Isaac (central sleep apnea at 3 years old...) and to Esther Rose, my beautiful but quirky little girl!

Brianna had hers done because they were massive and creating sleep apnea. But on that same part she DID NOT and HAS NOT had a sleep study done. We are heading for one because her apnea has not gone away. She did turn blue in her sleep and did snore. I personally would do it because even just three years between my girls her recovery was much better then her sisters. But unlike most children her sleep apnea didnt go away after the operation.