My DS just had his tonsils and adenoids removed in March. It was outpatient surgery, we got there at 6am and were leaving the surgical center at 10:30am. That included a 30-45 minutes pre-op, where they gave him a sedative to relax him and make him sleepy, and the one hour nap he took in recovery. As far as activity afterwards, he wasn't on complete bed rest, the doctor told us that he couldn't do anything real strenuous for two weeks, but that he would be able to go back to school 10 days after the surgery.