Some children are born with enlarged adenoids. Some suffer from adenoidal enlargement due to recurrent infections. As enlarged adenoids can hinder proper breathing, especially during sleep-time, it is necessary that adenoids be removed to improve breathing.

Enlarged adenoids can also cause ear infections as these affect the Eustachian tubes connecting the middle ears with the back of the nose. If your child is prone to recurring ear infections, an adenoidectomy can help.

An adenoidectomy is also helpful in bringing relief from sleep apnoea and mouth breathing that causes not only malaligned teeth, it also leads to recurrent upper respiratory infections that occur as adenoids are a harbour for infectious microbes.

Like a tonsillectomy, an adenoidectomy too is performed under general anaesthesia and takes about 20 – 30 minutes. The surgeon uses cold instrumentation or microdebrider or coblation through the mouth to completely remove the adenoids. Nasal endoscopic assistance may also be taken by the surgeon to confirm that the adenoids have indeed been removed completely.

Read more about these surgical devices here: https://www.raosentcare.com/equipment

As an adenoidectomy is done with the patient under general anaesthesia i.e. total body sedation, the patient is asleep all through the procedure and wakes up in the recovery room with the adenoids safely removed. While the medical staff monitors the patient for a few hours after the surgery, most patients are discharged from the hospital the very same day.

The pre-operative, post operative expectations and other instructions are very much similar to those of tonsillectomy. For specific instructions, please consult your doctor.