Post Operative Care & Complications
- First and foremost the patient is kept with their head low and lying to one side.
At no time would they be permitted to lie on their back or be left unattended till they regain consciousness.
- Complications in this operation are very rare, usually seen in the form of bleeding almost immediately, or after several days. This is a very minor complication, which is easily corrected by the surgeon, but the patient is always advised to contact immediately after noticing the bleed.
- No diet restrictions are imposed on the patient following surgery. The sooner the patients start eating solid food, the better for them. They should follow a simple diet of soft foods and liquids, for the first one to two days. There is no restriction in activity if the patient fells up to it. The patient might start to snore and tends to breathe through his mouth, due to pain, for a few days, which is normal.
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- In the week that follows the surgery, the patient will and might have some moderate to mild pain in the throat and ear, along with fever, nausea and vomiting. Sometimes especially in children there could be a slight change in the sound of the voice. Formation of thick white scabs over the place where the tonsil were removed can be seen. This is however normal, and might cause bad breath. There is no reason to worry, as it will fall off in about 10 days. In most cases, the patient swallows it unknowingly.
- Follow-up is important after 7-10 days to 2 weeks, and it is advisable to definitely keep the appointment.
I am a 44 year old mother of a four year old. I had the surgery done on 6/7/12. I am now into day 6 of surgery and I have never experienced anything like this before. I decided to have the procedure done at the advice of my physician, re-occuring throat infections and mild sleep apenea. I had heard all the horror stories about adults recovering longer than children and didn't think it could be that bad. Well I am here to tell you all it is very ture. This is by far the worst pain I have ever ever experienced in my life. If I had known it was this bad, there is no way I would have under went the surgery. Prior to surgery all I dranked was water and find it diffcult to do that now. My throat feels like someone has chips of glass scraping it. My ears, head, neck and shoulders hurt all the time. My mouth is constantly filled with thick salavia that makes me gag and I have to have a towel wrapped around my face so I don't soil my pillows and bed. I have done what they said......gargled with warm salty water, eat popsicles, drink fluids, and try to rest. I can hardly sleep at night because it's so painful and taken pain medicine has been a struggle becasue it burns soooo bad when I take it. I just sure hope that it was worth it because as of now I don't see how any good could come out of this intense pain. I didn't post this to scare anyone from this procedure by no means I am just letting you all know that this is very very very painful.