Adenoidectomy
Adenoidectomy is the process of taking out a person's adenoids from the back of their throat through the process of surgery. They may be removed for several reasons, including difficulty breathing through the nose and having ear infections. The surgery is common in young kids. The procedure is usually performed using a substance called anaesthesia (Greek for "without sensation"), and the substance puts a person to sleep when it is applied. Recovery time from the operation can vary from several hours to a few days.
Adenoidectomy is usually done on young children because their adenoids were infected by a virus. If the disease was to be left alone, it would worsen. The affected person could have harder times breathing or hearing, and may possibly be killed from the disease. Normally functioning adenoids help maintain the body's healthy immune system during early childhood. They shrink when a person gets older. When a person becomes an adult, their adenoids completely disappear.
Other websites
- Surgery Encyclopedia: Adenoidectomy
- Adenoidectomy - throat operation to remove swollen adenoids Archived 2008-08-22 at the Wayback Machine
