Friday, September 2, 2011

Side effects of tonsillectomy in children

If you intend to bring your children to the hospital for a tonsillectomy, so be prepared to face the tonsillectomy side effects. Some children experience weight gain after surgical removal of tonsils or often called tonsil procedure.

Surgical removal of tonsils is generally done to cope with chronic tonsillitis. Inflammation in this part usually makes the child has symptoms such as trouble swallowing (dysphagia) and pain on swallowing (odynophagia).

These symptoms are of course affect the diet, so to some extent will affect children growth, especially height and weight. If allowed, the children will be more skinny and long to be malnourished.

After the tonsils or inflamed tonsils were removed through surgery called Tonsillectomy, children no longer have difficulty or pain when swallowing food. Therefore, going back to normal eating patterns and may lead to obesity in children.

Obesity experienced by the children after tonsillectomy procedure is quite significant. A study which examines three studies of Tonsillectomy prove that the increase in body weight or body mass index (BMI) after surgery reaching 46-100 percent.

In the first study carried out 127 children with tonsillitis, removal of tonsils or tonsils make child BMI increased between 5.5 to 8.2 percent. In America, this figure is alarming considering the fact 33 percent of children in this country are overweight (overweight) and 17 percent were obese.

Although not revealed a direct relationship, weight gain after tonsillectomy is feared to trigger a dramatic increase in children who suffer from obesity related.

The next study examined 419 children, with weight gain after tonsillectomy procedure is quite variable between 46-100 percent. Subsequent research revealed 249 children with tonsil removal of body weight increased 50-75 percent.

Although less tonsillectomy procedure performed today than 40 years ago, but this is still one of the major surgical operation most commonly performed in children in the U.S.. Physicians and parents should consider this study's findings before deciding whether their child should undergo tonsillectomy procedure, said Jeyakumar, who is also assistant professor of pediatrics.

The analysis, published in the journal Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery was observed nine studies specifically on the tonsils or tonsillectomy with adenoidectomy (removal of the thyroid gland), published between 1970 and 2009. Recorded 795 children involved in the study were aged 18 years or younger and has a weight ranging from normal to obese is not healthy. The research was divided into three sections based on the weight, and the participants were followed for an average of one year.

The first group, with 127 patients, measured body mass index (BMI). On average, the BMI of children in that group increased by about 7 percent after surgery and 3.6 percent more weight than the control group.

The second group, with 419 children, using height and weight charts in the U.S.. Weight gain was recorded in 46 percent to 100 percent of this group, the researchers said.

Various methods were used to assess weight gain in the third group, involving 249 patients. From 50 percent to 75 percent of the children gain weight more than expected based on the growth and development, according to the analysis.

A small number of studies included in this study reflect the inconsistencies in recording medical information, which makes comparisons difficult.

Tonsillectomy procedures performed mostly in children who at times has had an infection, or experience respiratory problems that affect sleep. This condition is sometimes associated with frequent upper respiratory tract infection.

Jeyakumar cautioned that the study did not indicate why the children gain weight or even to prove the reason they're fat because it had undergone tonsillectomy.

The theory of weight gain after tonsillectomy showed that children who are hyperactive before surgery became calmer and more focused after, so they use fewer calories. Children with sleep disorders may burn more calories because they are struggling to breathe. These two conditions often occur in children with chronic tonsillitis.

Another theory states that parents may tend to feed more children to immediately recover from surgery.


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