DIET:  The patient can eat anything that they want.  Fluids are the most important things they MUST have.  Fluids help the patient feel better sooner by keeping the throat moist, soreness to a minimum and temperature down.  Fluids can include:  sodas, Kool-Aid, Popsicles, water or crushed ice, ice cream, tea, or juices.  The patient will have difficulty with citrus fruits, hot fluids, and rough foods for the first 48-hours.  They do not have to be avoided, but the patient will be more comfortable if they are not used.

 

Other things that can help include:  taking the pain medication about 30-minutes before meals and using Chloraseptic spray as needed.  Taking fluids before eating will also be of benefit.

 

ACTIVITY:  Quiet play is recommended for the younger children, including television, games, puzzles, reading, and coloring books.  For the older patients, books, television, and painting or other forms of relaxation are approved.  We try to avoid very active games that would get the patient's blood pressure up or make them hot.  Bed rest is not required.  Frequent rests are suggested.

 

VISITORS:  Visitors are welcomed at any time, as long as the patient does not try to overexert.

 

FOLLOW-UP:  The patient will be normally seen in the office 2 weeks following surgery for the first post-op check, and sooner if there are any problems.

 

SYMPTOMS:  Expected symptoms, which should not cause alarm, include:  (a) sore throat, (b) low grade fever between 99 and 101 degrees orally, or 100 to 102 degrees rectally, (c) a black tarry bowel movement, as some blood may have been swallowed immediately after surgery, (d) earache, which is common starting about the third to the fifth day after surgery.

 

Those symptoms that should be reported to your doctor include:  temperature greater than 102 degrees orally or 103 degrees rectally, bright red bleeding or vomiting big blood clots, excessive nasal bleeding which will not stop within 5-minutes, swelling of the neck, prolonged sweating, cold clammy skin, or pale color.

 

MEDICATIONS:  The patient will normally go home with a liquid pain medication, to be taken as directed.  The dosage is _____ tsp./tbsp. every 4 hours as needed.  The patient will also be sent home with an anti-nausea suppository, which is Phenergan.  The dosage is ____ suppository every 4 hours as needed for nausea.  The patient should also have Chloraseptic Spray for use at home.

Medications to avoid for the first week post-op include:  aspirin and aspirin products such as Aspergum.

 

OTHER:  The patient will have bad breath for the first week to 10 days after surgery and nothing can be done to improve this.  The patient still needs to use the normal oral hygiene of brushing their teeth, and it is okay to use mouthwashes and gargles if desired. 

 

It is not unusual for the patient to snore for the first week to 10 days after surgery, and this normally resolves or lessens as the swelling goes down and as the tonsillar beds heal.

 

It is not unusual for the patient to have some regurgitation of food or fluids through the nose during drinking initially after surgery, and this will normally resolve with time.  Also, the patient will have a nasal quality to their voice for the first 2-3 weeks after surgery, and again, this normally resolves with time.

 

If you think of other questions, please ask either the nurse prior to discharge or call the doctor.