This procedure involves surgically removing the adenoid glands from the nasopharynx, which is the area between the nasal airway and back of the throat. It is usually performed with a tonsillectomy, or surgical removal of the tonsils.
This surgery may be recommended for persons with: enlarged adenoids, or adenoidal hypertrophyexcessive snoringdifficulty breathing through the nosea sleep disorder known as sleep apnea, which causes episodes of not breathing during sleepchronic ear infections, known as chronic otitis mediachronic or repeated tonsillitis, or inflammation of the tonsilschronic sinusitis
The surgery is performed using general anesthesia. This involves putting the person to sleep with medications so that he or she feels no pain and has no awareness of the procedure. A breathing tube, known as an endotracheal tube, is inserted into the mouth and throat. Then the adenoid tissue is removed, and bleeding is controlled with pressure. The entire procedure takes about a half hour.
Griffith, H. Winter. Instructions for Patients. Philadelphia:W.B. Saunders company,1994.
