Type of Surgery
Information
Last updated: 11/24/2009
Persons are turned on their side after the operation to prevent the possibility of blood being drawn into the lungs (aspirated). Vital signs are monitored. Patients can drink water and other non-irritating liquids when they are fully awake.
Adults are usually warned to expect a very sore throat and some bleeding after the operation. They are given antibiotics to prevent infection, and some receive pain-relieving medications. For at least the first 24 hours, individuals are instructed to drink fluids and eat soft, pureed foods.
People are usually sent home the day of surgery. They are given instructions to call their surgeon if there is bleeding or earache, or fever that lasts longer than three days. They are told to expect a white scab to form in the throat between five and 10 days after surgery.
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Mostly everyone has heard of tonsillectomy, that is, a surgery to remove the tonsils; but the location of the tonsils is often no more clear than "somewhere in the throat." This narrated animation shows where the tonsils are located and gives an approximation of what they look like when they are inflamed and headed for tonsillectomy.
Tonsils are removed through the mouth (A). The surgeon uses a scissors to cut away the tonsils, and a forceps to pull them away (B). (Illustration by GGS Inc.)
Other Information
A tonsillectomy is a surgical procedure in which the tonsils are removed. Sometimes the adenoids are removed at the same time.
Other Information
Mastoidectomy is done to make the ear safe, since infection in the skull may be dangerous and can cause infection in and around the brain. With this procedure we hope to make the ear dry and possibly improve the hearing.
-P H Jones
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