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Vegetations in children: protection against infections
The ENT sphere (for otorhinolaryngeal) consists of three structures, the nose, throat and ears, which all communicate with each other. It acts as a sort of filter so that the air reaches the bronchi, then the lungs, as pure as possible (free from dust and microbes) before supplying the blood with oxygen in the alveoli. Tonsils and adenoids therefore form a bulwark against attacks, especially microbial, thanks to the cells of the immunity they contain. But they are sometimes overwhelmed and then harbor more germs than healthy tissue. Repeated ear infections and snoring, these are the signs of a probable enlargement of the adenoids. They are in principle at their maximum volume between 1 and 3 years, then gradually decrease to disappear at 7 years, except in the event of gastroesophageal reflux. But in this case, it is the drug treatment of the reflux which melts the adenoids. So we can wait and treat acute otitis media one after the other? or remove adenoids.
In which cases do adenoids operate?
Repeated ear infections, with more than 6 episodes per year all of which deserve antibiotics, affect the eardrum. This secretes thick serosities, which is painful and sometimes causes prolonged hearing loss. Unfortunately, removing adenoids, usually done between 1 and 5 years old, does not guarantee the result every time. The intervention is also offered when the child has difficulty breathing through the nose because of large “constitutional” adenoids (they have always been there) which result in a feeling of suffocation and snoring. Restless sleep is no longer restorative and growth can be affected. The operation can be envisaged all the more easily since there are no drugs to reduce the volume of adenoids.
How is the operation going?
The children are completely asleep during the procedure, using a mask or an injection, and the surgeon passes an instrument through the mouth to remove the adenoids, in just two minutes. Everything is back to normal immediately and the child goes out during the day to go to his house where he is much better off than his mother. The operative consequences are extremely simple; we just give a little painkiller (paracetamol) just in case. And he goes back to school the next day. What if they grow back? As the organ is poorly limited by the surrounding tissues, fragments of adenoids may remain after the procedure and regrowth is possible; it is more or less rapid, it is surely so in the event of reflux. In most children, however, the cavum (the cavity at the back of the nose where the adenoids are) grows proportionately faster, as a result of growth, than a possible regrowth.