My 4 year old just did a sleep study last weekend. The receptionist called me to make a follow up appt with the specialist. She said that my husband should be there as well as my daughter but could not give me any information ... (thanks for the panic attack!) I spoke with her primary dr and she called to get a bit more info for us. She was told that my daughte does have a severe case of sleep apnea and will have to have her tonsills and adnoids remove very soon. How do i know this is right for my little baby?
thanks for the help!
Christy

Hi, Klmomma,

The standard treatment for sleep apnea in the young is removal of the tonsils and adenoids. When you get to the appointment, ask how necessary is it in your child's case. I only say that because that was the first thing discussed with my son (he is much older, though) and it was determined that surgery did not have to be the first option. He is on CPAP for now and we have taken a wait and see attitude for surgery.

Each case is different and if your child really has enlarged tonsils and adenoids which block her airway, surgery may be best.

Don't feel afraid though to ask for alternatives and then explore them.

Hope that helps. Let us know what happens.

Judi

I've had the same experience as Judi -- my son had nothing wrong with the tonsils and adenoids so the doctor went the cpap route.  You can always get a 2nd opinion.... Good luck!

My son had both his tonsils and adenoids removed at 22 months because they were enlarged and were causing chronic tonsillitis and sinus infections.  He's now 4 and recently had his first sleep study which showed both obstructive sleep apnea/hypopneas and central apneas.  His next study will be with a c-pap machine to see if that helps at all.  

I would suggest going into the appointment with an open mind.  Don't assume that the surgery will or won't be beneficial for your child until you've heard what the doctor has to say.  There are plenty of children who don't end up needing surgery, but there are also lots of others who've really benefited from having tonsils and/or adenoids removed.  Make sure that you're comfortable with the reasoning behind the surgery and that it has a good chance of making things better for your child before agreeing to it.  Recovery wasn't fun or easy for my son, but once he was healed, he slept much better for about a year (until he had surgery to repair his velum).  You know your child best.  Make sure that you find doctors that you can trust to take care of your little one.  They should be very willing to answer questions and show you "proof" that this procedure is necessary.  Good luck.  I hope things get better for you.