Surgical removal of the third tonsil, or adenoid, is considered relatively safe and straightforward and, therefore, it is often recommended as an easy solution to ENT (ear-nose-throat) problems in children.
Yet, the third tonsil is not without function and the surgical intervention does not pass without stress and emotional trauma, at least. So, it is wise to consider if surgery is really necessary after all.
For those unfamiliar, let us start with few well-known facts. The quotes below are from KidsHealth website, but the facts are easily found in many other places.
So, what are adenoids anyway? They're a patch of tissue that sits at the very back of the nasal passage. The adenoids help to stop bacteria and viruses from entering the body through the nose.
In kids, adenoids usually begin to shrink after about 5 years of age and often practically disappear by the teen years.
Because adenoids trap germs that enter the body, adenoid tissue can temporarily swell as it tries to fight off an infection. These symptoms are often associated with enlarged adenoids.
How can coMra Therapy help to spare the scalpel? The following interview from 2010 is self-explanatory.
Alexander lives in Bulgaria's capital, Sofia. I asked his feedback on treating his 5 year old daughter with the Delta Laser.
Q: What was the problem that pushed you towards searching for novel medical practices?
A: There were two really. First of all my daughter tends to get sick far too often. Also, her third tonsil needed to be removed, according to doctors. We were reluctant toward such surgical intervention. By "we" I mean I and my wife.
Q: Talking about "doctors", this would probably mean your GP and one or two ENT specialists?
A: No, our GP said nothing more than there was a problem. He sent us to an ENT specialist who said it needed to be removed. We met two other specialists who advised the same. The boss of the ENT department was the most definitive. He even whispered in our ears which hospitals should be avoided for procedures like this. (He said this in case we decided not to stay in his ENT department, but go for a more established department.) This was several months ago.
Q: Have you been informed what are the functions of the third tonsil, what is lost with its removal: that it is a valve against bacteria?
A: No. They measured it with some light device and said it was far too large. The procedure takes 20 seconds and costs sometimes 15 and other times 20 EUR. I failed to understand what exactly determines the price.
Q: This is not what I was asking you, but anyway. By the way, when I was kid they cut out all three of my tonsils. This had been a kind of modern thing to do at that time, and I must say that the immediate symptoms like angina and so on, disappeared.
A: The same with me. As far as your previous question is concerned, I did answer you: no one ever informed us of the risks of the surgery. We were left with the impression that there were only positive effects.
Q: OK. I suppose that before coMra-Therapy you must have used other, more traditional, non-invasive treatments like, for example, warming.
A: We did those for ten days last winter. Also, they had a hypothesis it might be caused by some allergy and, therefore, gave us anti-allergic drops from time to time.
Q: Going back to the subject, how long does a coMra Treatment take? I ask because, you know, we are all so very busy and so on.
A: The procedure takes about 10 minutes with all preparations. We usually did the treatments in the evenings. Of course, sometimes it would take longer. You understand, she is a kid, at times she is more restless.
Q: Let's say, half an hour. It does not seem like a huge burden, does it? Is the improvement permanent or do you not know yet?
A: The light device said that the tonsil had "miraculously" diminished in size. "Miraculous" is the doctor's verbatim. So, again in his opinion, there is no need for surgery for now.
Thus far the improvement is stable. Recently, 18 out 20 kids in her group in the kindergarten got influenza, including her. Yet, her third tonsil did not swell.
Q: I assume it is too early to draw some conclusions concerning your first problem, that is, getting sick too often?
A: Right. But I must nonetheless say that this influenza was her first disease for several months now.
Recently, I contacted Alexander for an update. It turned out that his daughter continued in good health with the third tonsil and without any major health problems. Her third tonsil took its natural course towards reduction.