• A severe sore throat is expected. A prescription for pain medication will be given to you after surgery. Do not use Aspirin or Motrin®. These are blood thinners.
• Nausea and possibly vomiting can occur after the anesthesia. If it persists longer than 24 hours, stop using the pain medication (which sometimes causes nausea) and switch to plain Tylenol®.
• Ear pain can be quite severe and is usually referred from the throat. Use the pain medication provided.
• In older children, ice or cold compresses applied to the neck is soothing.
• Low grade fever is not unusual. This usually means the patient is not drinking enough fluids.
• The patient may have bad breath during the healing process.
• There may be a change in the patient's voice if the tonsils or adenoids are extremely large due to the change in the shape of the throat. This hypernasal voice generally clears in several weeks but may require several months.
• The throat will look rather bad during the healing proess with various shades of black, grey, white, and yellow. There is no reason for you to look.
• There may be some expected bleeding after surgery with blood tinged drainage from the nose or mouth. There may also be some old blood present if the patient vomits. However, if the bleeding is excessive - which is generally obvious - call the office number first; if the doctor does not return your call quickly, then take the patient to the Emergency Room.
• Excessive physical activity should be avoided for two weeks.
• The patient will probably need to miss one week of school or work.
• Obtain an appointment for 2-3 weeks after surgery.
  

Dietary Instructions

• Solid food is not necessary for several days; however, the patient MUST drink plenty of fluids (even if only water). This prevents dehydration, keeps the throat clean, and speeds recovery. Do not drink from a straw for 2 weeks.
• Avoid harsh fruit juices such as orange, lemon, grapefruit, pineapple and hot or highly seasoned foods. No sharp foods that might scratch such as bacon, dry toast, potato chips, pizza, etc. should be eaten for two weeks.
• Day of surgery: Patient may begin by taking abundant quantities of liquids, including water, jello, soda, popsicles, sherbert, etc.
• Second day of surgery: Can add milk shakes, pudding, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, pureed vegetables and any soft food which is appealing but can be swallowed easily.
• Third and forth days:Soft cereal, eggs, chopped meats, hot dogs, etc. and gradually advance to other foods that are not rough until the end of fourteen days.