Post Op Information:
Tonsillectomy
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What To Expect
Tonsillectomy is a painful experience with pain lasting anywhere up until 2 weeks.
Pain can be felt in the throat and sometimes referred to the neck/ears.
It is normal for the pain to get worse between DAY 5 and DAY 7 after surgery before improving
Encourage normal eating and drinking as much as possible. We recommend taking pain relief 30 minutes before meals.
A small amount of blood stained saliva for a few days may occur without the need for concern.
Large volume fresh bleeding is a serious issue however, that requires immediate medical attention. We recommend presenting to your closest public emergency department for review.
Bad breath is expected following this procedure with a smelly nasal discharge not uncommon following adenoidectomy. Gargling luke warm salty water may help this.
For the first 2 weeks following surgery, the space where the tonsils use to be will appear yellow and sloughy. This is normal and not a sign of infection. The uvula may also be swollen for several days.
We recommend at least 1-2 weeks of school or work. Avoid strenuous activity, exercise or lifting for the first 2 weeks after surgery.
Loud noise breathing can persist for the first few days after surgery before settling down
Speed Up Recovery
Is critical for your recovery and we recommend eating even if you don’t fell hungry or have pain. Eating promotes saliva formation and helps mobilize the jaw muscles. This will increase your speed of recovery and reduces the chance of a post-operative infection and bleed. We recommend eating cool foods that make you chew, like toast whilst ice-cream, custard and other soft foods can be eaten for comfort in between. It is also important to keep your fluids up during the recover period.
Should be used regularly. We recommend using paracetamol every 6 hours for the first 5-7 days after surgery with the stronger pain relief used in between or before bed if required. If you are using codeine based pain relief, it is important to consume fibre to avoid constipation. Coloxyl and senna is an over the counter medications that is useful if you are becoming constipated. Difflam or Cepacaine mouth gargles may also help in numbing the throat and reducing the pain.
Nurofen, Aspirin, Advil and similar medications for the first 2 weeks as they can increase the risk of bleeding. Also avoid hot food, hot baths, strenuous exercise and heavy lifting for the first 2 weeks.
Prof Psaltis recommends 1-2 weeks off after tonsillectomy surgery.
Usually he will only need to see you once at 6 weeks to ensure that healing is complete.
- Dr Psaltis will normally review you at 6 weeks after surgery
- Please call his rooms if you have any questions prior to that or require additional pain relief