How to explain surgery to a 3 year old

Is there a reason her throat will be hurting for two weeks after getting her adenoids out? Is she getting her tonsils out at the same time?

DS15 had his adenoids out when he was 2 1/2 along with ear tubes put in. He was fine a few hours after surgery. We did the surgery on a Thursday, kept him home from daycare on Friday, and he was totally fine by Saturday. I am pretty sure we never altered his diet. He had his 2nd set of tubes and they re-looked at his adenoids again when he was 5. Then had his tonsils out and some regrowth of his adenoids removed when he was a month shy of 10. All three times, they looked at/removed his adenoids through his nose, not his throat. It is 6 years later....maybe they do it differently now and instead of almost no recovery time, they decided it would be better for a kid to be hurting for 2 weeks instead? Maybe it would be a good idea to check back with your ENT on his/her surgical methods and ask for options....

For a 3 year old, I would just say you are going to the doctor so they can check her nose and mouth. I really don't even remebering telling DS anything - we were right there with him until right before surgery anyway, and he had been to the Dr. so many times for ear infections, he was used to the doctors looking in his ears, nose, and mouth. And I wouldn't say anything about her diet - she will eat what you give her to eat, and probably not really question it. If she asks for something you don't think she should have, just tell her no, or that you don't have it and need to go grocery shopping.

ETA: I just read your update - if the ENT is going through her throat and not her nose as you say, keep in mind that the adenoids are ABOVE where she will be swallowing, as will the scabs, if any (I don't remember DS having scabs from the adenoids at all). Nothing is going to be disturbed in the lower part of the throat where your DD will be swallowing food. It's really not going to be a big deal. Don't make it one and your DD will be just fine.)

Good luck!
 
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The kids I've seen do the best are with the parents who do not make any kind of big deal about it (even though the are dying with anxiety inside). The nurses are pretty good about distracting the kids once they have to start IV's and 02. They make it like a fun game, because a freak out only makes things slower and more scary. Keeping little kids happy is critical for your own sanity as a nurse, so most do a pretty good job with it. Things I have learned by my mistakes or from other's mistakes: Do not use words that sound scary or creepy. Cut, scrape, "pull out," stitches, needles, "going to sleep" and others seem to be big anxiety producers. We had a colorful, benign sounding euphemism for everything. I think you have a good plan.
 
StitchesGr8Fan I hope everything went well and your daughter is recovering comfortably. :flower3:
 
She did great. We were calm so she was calm. We did have some tears when she woke up, in part because of disorientation and also because the IV was poking her hand. We've been home for a few hours and she drinking lots of liquid and eating Popsicles and yogurt. She now wants to jump around and play. We were told no hard food (chips, cookies) for 2 weeks by the doctor. They went through the back/top of her throat because there wasn't enough space to go through her nose. All in all I'd say she is already on the road to recovery.
 















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