It doesn't take long—about 20 to 30 minutes—for an ear, nose and throat specialist like me to remove your child's tonsils. Still, I recommend a tonsillectomy only after careful consideration. Most children I examine have been referred by their pediatrician because their tonsils are very swollen, causing breathing problems, or they're experiencing repeated infections that keep them from school and other activities. When antibiotics and time don't seem to help as much as we'd like and when your child's ability to breathe and function normally is impaired, it may be time to consider surgery. Healthy tonsils are small, rounded lumps at the back of the throat on each side, visible just above the tongue. They are part of a ring of lymphoid tissue in the back of the throat that includes the adenoids. The adenoids must be checked with an angled mirror since they lie between the back of the nose and the throat. Swollen tonsils are easier to see, forming a reddish, oval mass. Occasionally they are large enough to actually touch in the middle. The severity and frequency of tonsillitis must be taken into account when considering a tonsillectomy.
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Other times, it may be tonsillitis, the medical name for an infection of the tonsils that causes them to swell, making it hard to swallow and leaving the lymph nodes in the neck sore. Everyone is born with two tonsils, small, oval-shaped glands located at the back of your throat. They contain white blood cells, which help ward off infection; but sometimes, the tonsils themselves can become infected by either a virus or bacteria. The most common cause of bacterial infection in the tonsils is streptococcus pyogenes group A strep , or strep throat. Tonsillitis is most common among children between ages 5 and 15, and at Yale Medicine, we have a team of pediatric otolaryngologists ear, nose and throat specialists skilled at diagnosing and treating it. Most cases of tonsillitis do not require a tonsillectomy removing the tonsils , but if surgery is needed, our physicians are experienced in the latest and most advanced techniques.
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CNN Jahi McMath, an Oakland teenager whose brain-death following a routine tonsil surgery in created national headlines, died on June 22, according to the family's attorney. CNN's Ed Payne. Catherine E. More Videos Brain dead girl's body moved Story highlights McMath was declared brain-dead by doctors December 12, a few days after surgery on her tonsils She died on June 22 from complications associated with liver failure.
The case of Jahi McMath involved a thirteen year-old girl who was declared brain dead in California following surgery in This led to a bioethical debate engendered by her family's rejection of the medicolegal findings of death in the case, and their efforts to maintain her body using mechanical ventilation and other measures. Her parents considered these measures to constitute life support , while her doctors considered this to be futile treatment of a deceased person. The attorney later withdrew this request, saying he wanted time for the court-appointed medical expert and his own medical experts to confer. According to court documents, [16] McMath was admitted to Children's Hospital Oakland on December 9, , for an adenotonsillectomy , uvulopalatopharyngoplasty and submucous resection of bilateral inferior turbinates. It was hoped these procedures would provide improved airflow during her sleep at night. The hospital described these procedures as complicated. The family described the surgery as a routine tonsillectomy in media reports. After the surgeries were performed, McMath was conscious and according to her mother, Latasha "Nailah" Winkfield, [18] [19] [20] asked for a Popsicle while in the recovery room.