TONSILS AND ADENOIDS CAUSING SLEEP APNEA.

My nearly 6 yr old son has developed sleep apnea nearly 1yr ago, we've seen an ENT who recommended T&A surgery. we decided not to have the surgery yet and leave it for last resort, now we have come to be desperate, he isn't sleeping very well at all. wondering if there is anything we need to know before going ahead with the surgery. thank you, looking forward to your response

DR SHAPIRA RESPONSE: I would encourage you to go ahead with the T&A ASAP because rersearch has shown permenant changes in brain development associated with Apnea in children.

There is always risk associated with any surgery. The biggest risk is the general anaesthesia, I recommend having a pediatric anaesthesiologist for the surgery if one is available in your area. The surgery can have risks of post op bleeding but this is usually not a big concern.

I believe the T & A was the best thing we ever did for my sons health and welfare.

ADD ADHD, DYSLEXIA AND OTHER LEARNING AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE HIGH CORRELATION TO SLEEP APNEA. IN FACT 80% OF ADD AND ADHD PATIENTS HAVE SLEEP APNEA. PROBLEMS LIKE DIABETES, OBESITY AND DEPRESSION ARE ALSO LINKED TO SLEEP APNEA.

IT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF CHILDREN TO HAVE EARLY TREATMENT OF AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION AND MAY HAVE MAJOR LIFETIME EFFECTS.

A NEW STUDY HAS SHOWN THAT URINE OR BLOOD TESTS MAY BE EXCELLENT SCREENIG TOOLS FOR PEDIATRIC SLEEP APNEA.


hello, and thank you for your quick response, we appreciate the advice, it's very reassuring and even relieving:). i'm not a big fan of surgery(i prefer to try the most natural routes first and leave it for last resort, plus I had a bad experience with the anesthesia myself a few years ago and have dreaded the idea of it ever since. I do realize that was just me and he will probably be fine. for the last couple of days we have been doing more sinus rinses and that has seemed to help him quite a bit with his sleeping but we'll still go ahead with the surgery... thanks again for the info, really appreciate it, sincerely The C....... family

I HOPE ALL GOES WELL WITH YOUR SON'S SURGERY AND I UNDERSTAND COMPLETELY. IT TOOK ME TWO YEARS BEFORE MY WIFE ELISE AND I FELT READY TO DO SURGERY. IN HINDSIGHT I AM SORRY I DID NOT HAVE IT DONE SOONER. SINUS IRRIGATION PRIOR TO SURGERY WILL MKE FOR AN EASIER RECOVERY. DR SHAPIRA

Response: very interesting! thanks! this is helpful, can't wait to share it with my husband. is there any research that shows he should just skip right to this mouth widening surgery instead of the T&A? I did read about that on your site, that it is a most effective solution to apnea. what is your recommendation?

Dr S response: Excellent Thought but you still need to do T&A. There was a presentation at the Baltimore meeting discussing doing widening first in ages as young as 2. The thought was less post op problems but this should probably be reserved for the most severe cases with high probability of post op problems.

response: once again, thanks sooo much:) feel so much more confident that we are doing the right thing for him, funny how someone else sharing their experience with you can do that, i guess that is one of the reasons the Lord puts "strangers" and there situations together GOD BLESS you and yours... keep up the helpful work, it's worth it to families like us:)