Common Complaints
Children – Snoring | mouth breathing
What are the tasks of the tonsils?
Your child's immune system is developed during the first 10 years of life. The defense tissue in the throat and especially the pharyngeal tonsils (pharyngeal tonsilla, popularly known as "polyps") and the palatine tonsils (palatine tonsilla) play a very important role. Normally, the tonsils recede after the 10th birthday.
What diseases of the tonsils are there?
The tonsils get inflamed from time to time as part of their tasks. In most cases, it is a matter of viral inflammation, which requires treatment of the symptoms with painkillers and antipyretics. In particular, excessive fluid loss must be avoided in children.
In the case of purulent inflammation caused by bacteria, treatment with an antibiotic is necessary. In this way, secondary diseases such as rheumatic fever, joint, kidney or heart valve inflammation can be avoided. The duration of treatment is usually 10 days to ensure the success of the therapy.
Sometimes the tonsils become so large that they impede breathing and eating. One of the main symptoms is the constantly open mouth because the children cannot get enough air through their nose. Nocturnal snoring, loss of appetite, constant runny nose, frequent infections and, above all, frequent middle ear infections can also be the result of enlarged tonsils. In the long term, hearing loss, incomplete speech development, misaligned teeth and a deflection of the nasal septum can be expected. Children grow while they sleep because growth hormone is released at night. A closed mouth during sleep is essential for normal growth of the jaw and palate.
A constantly snoring child is sick!
Does my child stop breathing while sleeping?
Children with sleep apnea syndrome don't just snore. The tonsils in your throat become so obstructed that breathing stops during sleep. The children are then whiny in the morning and have not slept well. They often also show symptoms that can be confused with fidget-philip syndrome (ADHD). Unlike adults, who are tired and sleepy during the day, tired children are more likely to become active and restless, and they are very taxing on those around them. The academic performance of these children is also significantly poorer than that of healthy children.
You can easily find out for yourself whether your child snores or suffers from sleep apnea syndrome. Just go into your child's bedroom at night and watch them for 5 to 10 minutes. If you notice snoring noises or even breathing pauses, a visit to a pediatrician or ENT specialist is strongly recommended.
How are children with breathing pauses treated?
If children show one or more of the symptoms described, removal of the pharyngeal tonsils and usually also reduction of the palatine tonsils (tonsillotomy) is recommended. A complete removal of the palatine tonsils is associated with a risk of secondary bleeding of 1 to 2% and leads to significantly more pain than a partial removal. It is not always necessary or sensible to completely remove enlarged tonsils. By using the laser, we can offer you a particularly gentle surgical procedure for your child.
In this tonsillotomy, only part of the tonsil is removed. The middle part of the enlarged tonsils is removed with a laser. This creates more space in the pharynx. The outer part of the tonsils is completely preserved and thus also the active tonsil tissue, which is important for the immune system.
Numerous studies have shown that partial tonsil removal is much more patient-friendly than total surgery, but eliminates childhood sleep apnea just as effectively.
Laser tonsillotomy
The procedure is mainly performed on small children between the ages of 3 and 7 if the tonsils are obstructing breathing due to their size,
The actual operation only takes about 30 minutes and can be performed on an outpatient basis under general anesthesia without any problems. You and your child can return home to their familiar surroundings a few hours after the procedure.
In certain cases, it is advisable to perform the tonsillotomy together with a pharyngeal tonsil removal.
If you wish or if it is deemed necessary for medical reasons, we have allocated beds available at Bethel Hospital.
Some statutory health insurance companies are willing to pay for these operations. We have to invoice the insured persons of the other health insurance companies directly for the costs incurred. However, an application for the assumption of costs is often successful, because no health insurance company wants to do without young and usually healthy insured persons.