Emily has been plagued by recurrent sore throats over the past 5 or 6 years.
On three separate occasions over the years, she had a swollen right tonsil that appeared to me to be a peritonsilar abscess. This is an infection around the tonsil that can become very serious, very quickly. If the infection continues to grow, it needs to be drained before it closes off the throat. Often, if caught early, it can be treated with antibiotics. Fortunately, whenever it seems like she needs treatment, I was able to prescribe some antibiotic and she always got better.
This past episode, the pain got better but the swelling of the right tonsil never went away. In hindsight, I’m not sure if it ever got better because I never really looked in her throat after she got better – because she got better! This time, I decided she needed to be seen by her pediatrician so that another doctor can help make the decisions as to what to do. It was determined that we should try a stronger antibiotic and watch. If it didn’t go away, we’d consult an ENT.
Well, it didn’t go away and an ENT was visited. He took one look in the mouth and clearly stated “That’s not a PTA – it’s a unilateral hypertrophied tonsil!”. That means, the tonsil is big on just the one side. However, this is an indication for removal of the tonsil (concerns about possible malignancy being of the highest concern). You can see in the picture that her right tonsil is significantly larger than the left.
The surgery was yesterday and she did awesome. I promised not to post the pictures of her that were taken in the pre-op area. She did remarkably well both before and after the procedure. She was very calm as we were waiting in pre-op and was absolutely amazing in post-op. It’s always funny how people react when they are coming out of anesthesia. Emily kept talking about Ellen Degeneres and Channing Tatum (I’m guessing the nurse was asking her about things she liked prior to arrival to the bedside). Emily asked us if Ellen was there and, when we told her that she wasn’t, she asked us if we could tell Ellen that she loves her. She was very chatty, but an absolute delight. The recovery nurse fell in love with her.
She recovered very nicely throughout the day and didn’t seem to have too much pain. However, by the end of the evening, it was catching up to her and the inflammation was really starting to kick in. Fortunately, hydrocodone elixir does wonders and she is hanging in there. Here’s to a very speedy recovery!