While it is not a common operation among adults, it is not uncommon to hear that a child has had adenoid surgery.
Adenoids are a formation of lymphatic tissue which is located in the transition zone between the nose and throat and are the first defense mechanism of the organism against the entry of germs through the respiratory tract.
During the first six years of life they grow rapidly and have a great activity as part of the immune system developing antibodies, however they decrease their activity towards puberty, when they stop growing.
Repeated infections, allergies and other irritating factors cause inflammation causing them to enlarge more than normal. This usually happens, except in acute cases, in children between 4 and 6 years.
Swollen adenoids cannot be seen on a normal examination, so you have to be attentive to its possible symptoms such as the child talking as if he had a stuffy nose, always breathing through his mouth, having frequent ear infections, nasal mucus and breathing loud, gangly voice, snoring and in some cases night apnea.
To make sure it is advisable to go to an otolaryngologist who will do a deeper exploration and evaluate its size.
They are usually treated in principle with antibiotics, but if the infections are not cured and persist or if the size prevents the child from breathing, resorting to the removal of the adenoids or adenoidectomy, a simple intervention of just half an hour in which it is introduced an instrument by mouth to extract them.
The operation itself is not risky beyond the risks of any operation that requires general anesthesia.
Despite having been extracted, the child does not lose his defenses since his protective function is assumed by other organs.
The only way to prevent the enlargement of adenoids within our possibilities is to treat infections of the throat of our children in a timely manner, and even better to prevent them by sheltering them properly, especially during the next cold months when colds and flu are more frequent.
