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mark page
03-15-2008, 11:40 AM
I'm no medical expert by no means, but aren't tonsilectomys or whatever they call removing tonsils pretty much a thing of the past? I had mine removed at maybe six or seven years old, and I think all my brothers had theirs removed too. This was in the 60's. I haven't heard of anyone having theirs removed since not too long after that time period. Well why I am asking is that I received a phone call today that one of my cousins stepdaughter had her's removed and this morning/late evening last night passed away from bleeding to death from it. She was 20 years old. There may be more complications cause I don't know everything yet but will hear more later today. I don't even know what tonsils do except give you a sore throat and swell up.

Anthony Anderson
03-15-2008, 12:09 PM
My Anatomy and Physiology professor said not to believe anyone that said a tonsilectomy was a routine procedure and there aren't any risks. Posterior to the tonsils are blood vessels that are superficial and can easily be "nicked" by a scapel, resulting in what you describe happened to your relative. I am sorry to hear of your loss. Bill

Joe Chritz
03-15-2008, 3:28 PM
The tonsils (there are more than two) are part of the immune system in a most basic sense. Its been a long time since anatomy class back when I was a medic but if I recall correctly their exact function isn't fully known.

No surgery is routine.

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Joe

Bob Rufener
03-15-2008, 4:27 PM
What a tough situation. Sorry to hear about this. I had my tonsils removed when I was about 11 years old. Up until that time, I had frequent sore throats (tonsilitis) and strep. Lots of sickness. After I had them removed, hardly a sore throat ever. None of our 3 kids had theirs removed and it seems to be a very uncommon operation. A bit of information is available here; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonsil

John Daugherty
03-15-2008, 4:43 PM
The wife and I just took our 7 y.o. son to the ENT yesterday to see if he needs his out. He's had strep 4 times since December. He is on his second round of antibiotics straight. He'll be finished in about a week. I have to take him back in two weeks. If he tests positive then the Dr. said his will have to come out. If they need to come out I'll be asking A LOT of questions.

I'm so sorry for your lose.

Phil Thien
03-15-2008, 4:58 PM
I'm am so sorry for you loss.

My 17-year old daughter had hers removed about 12-13 years ago. They were swollen to the nth degree, interfered with eating, and often became quite sore. In fact, she had become so accustomed to the pain that she didn't complain and more, but once they were removed her disposition changed into quite the cheery little girl.

Again, I am very sorry for your loss.

Joe Pelonio
03-15-2008, 6:47 PM
I still have mine, and still have my wisdom teeth too, at 55. No more appendix though. None of my 3 children (28, 23, 20) had their tonsils out either.

Gary Garmar
03-15-2008, 8:16 PM
Very, very common procedure. I am a Anesthesia provider and at our facility we perform, on average, 10+ tonsillectomies a week. Although a common procedure complications do occur, bleeding post op is one of the more common; but death is extremely rare.
So sorry for your loss.

Randal Stevenson
03-15-2008, 8:31 PM
Very, very common procedure. I am a Anesthesia provider and at our facility we perform, on average, 10+ tonsillectomies a week. Although a common procedure complications do occur, bleeding post op is one of the more common; but death is extremely rare.
So sorry for your loss.

First, sorry for your loss!

Secondly, maybe Gary can answer this. My understanding is now it isn't as common as before, unless the person is sick on a regular basis, due in part to more knowledge (treatment and otherwise).
Also my understanding has always been it was a higher risk surgery the older you got.
What can you tell us about those? (right, wrong, other)

Matthew Poeller
03-15-2008, 10:29 PM
Sorry for your loss.

I had mine out 4 years ago when i was 25 to cure my sleep apnea. My tonsils where huge and it did cure the sleep apnea.

I also have factor eight deficiency which slows my clotting time. This means that I am high risk for what happened to your relative. They had to have a special shot in the OR in case there was a problem. The shot was 25 thousand dollars. Luckily I did not need it.

Gary Garmar
03-16-2008, 9:53 AM
Like I said in my earlier post, it's a fairly common procedure. What with the "over use" of prescription antibiotics it seems tonsillitis will be with us forever. By the way, I still have my tonsils. Most ALL of these procedures are done on an OUTPATIENT basis, not requiring overnight or Hospital stays. The most common time of a bleeding problem is usually 7-10 days following the procedure. As far as the issue of "being harder on an adult" I have no statistical information to support that; its just that older people tend to be more grumpy, maybe because they don't get the "special" lollipops. These are just my opinions and observations, not gospel. ALWAYS consult your family physician about ANY infection.

Jim O'Dell
03-16-2008, 10:15 AM
Mark, sorry to hear about your family's tragedy. I'll keep you all in my prayers. Jim.

Russ Filtz
03-17-2008, 8:00 AM
Getting them out as adults is much more risky. I've never had mine out, but wish I had. My son got his done last year. He had an abscess on them that was so painful he was walking around with his head cocked to one side. I thought he had hurt his neck at school. happened that fast. Fine one day, next his head was cocked over! Then the stupid doctors office wouldn't see him right away since it was close to closing. Next morning when the doctor saw him, he chewed butt at the front desk for turning me away.

Dennis Peacock
03-17-2008, 9:04 AM
Mark,

I'm very sorry to hear of your family loss. I hope you find the answers you need. I'll keep your family in my thoughts and prayers.

mark page
03-17-2008, 1:32 PM
As an update, the tonsil operation was several days before her death, and evidently had a small continued bleeding up until the time of her death. This was a lesson for me and my family to never take what would be a routine procedure lightly and to follow-up on any type of poor feeling afterwards, no matter how slight. I can see how this could have happened since there is no outwardly visible signs of the continued bleeding, but something that definately could have been prevented if known.

Chris Padilla
03-17-2008, 2:55 PM
Mark,

My condolences to you and your loved ones. No surgery is EVER to be taken lightly. Any time you are put under, there is a non-zero chance you won't come back out. "Routine" lead to complacency which leads to potential problems.

My brother has suffered from strep throat several times a year for most of his life but last I know, he still has his tonsils. I'm not sure if he is still suffering from such ailments any more.

I have all the body parts I was born with (well, except for that little circumcision that I had no say in ;) ) and so far so good.

Sam Yerardi
03-17-2008, 3:01 PM
Mark,

I am so sorry for your loss and what you & your family are going through. I had mine taken out when I was about 5 (I still remember them holding me down in the operating room while they held a rag of ether over my face). I am now 53. I have a twin sister and she had hers out a few years ago and almost bled to death. The doctors said that the older you get, the more dangerous it is. Did she have her adenoids taken out? Sometimes they are removed at the same time and that can probably lead to bleeding as well.

mark page
03-17-2008, 3:23 PM
Sam,

Yep I know about the ether mask. Same for me. I think I did land a few kicks in on the hospital personnel. Nothing like an ether "hangover" when waking up. I can still here them asking "Can you smell this?" You can only hold your breath for so long.....:(

Greg Cole
03-17-2008, 4:15 PM
Hi Mark,
Sorry for your family's loss. Sincere wishes in your time of loss.

I too still have all my body parts (ok, ok, ok I have a pinky about 1/8" shorter than the other via my jointer), including the wisdom teeth the dentist is always telling me I don't need. Call me funny, but if these parts are "factory equipment" I don't need any aftermarket parts removal. He thinks I'm joking when I ask him if he's building a vacation house and needs extra $.... :D;):rolleyes:

Greg

Joe McCormick
03-18-2008, 7:45 AM
John.
I had my tonsils out at age 26. That was 33 years ago. I only had problems with them that one time. I wish I still had them. I never had any problems with pollens until I had them removed and I seem to get more sore throat without them. I read that mucus forming foods like eggs and milk and possibly wheat products can cause a problem with the tonsils. You could do some research on the subject on the internet. Here is a link you can start at. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2004/09/29/tonsillectomy.aspx

Amy Leigh Baker
03-18-2008, 5:01 PM
A 24 year old coworker had his out a two years ago. A girl I know had hers taken out Friday.

My condolences.

Amy

Doug Swanson
03-20-2008, 10:47 PM
I had mine out at 21years old. I also had some pretty significant post operative bleeding but basically they just cauterized it again. Reading your story gave me a cold chill. My condolences to your family. Good reminder not to take any routine surgery for granted.

Doug

Michael Gibbons
03-24-2008, 12:13 PM
Sorry for your loss.

I had mine out 4 years ago when i was 25 to cure my sleep apnea. My tonsils where huge and it did cure the sleep apnea.

I also have factor eight deficiency which slows my clotting time. This means that I am high risk for what happened to your relative. They had to have a special shot in the OR in case there was a problem. The shot was 25 thousand dollars. Luckily I did not need it. Factort eight deficency? I learn something new everyday I come here. Wouldn't that be a vitamin K deficency? I had a impacted wisdom tooth removed in high school and it bleed for about 5 hours straight. My mom went to the pharmacy and got a perscription for vitamin K and it stopped within an hour.