How Airway Reconstruction Surgery Can Eliminate Your Child’s Constant Sinus Infections

How Airway Reconstruction Surgery Can Eliminate Your Child’s Constant Sinus Infections

Health and Fitness September 4, 2017

Cleft lip

It hurts to see your child suffering from a chronic ear infection or reoccurring sinus issue. It makes it difficult for them to play with their friends, focus in school and even sleep when they come home. Instead of waiting and hoping the condition goes away, consider your child may be in need of airway reconstruction surgery. This gets to the root of the problem and opens up your child’s airways so they have a reduced chance of getting that sinus infection that keeps tripping them up when they should be living their life to the fullest.

Surgery can seem like a last resort. In actuality it’s a very smart and effective way of eliminating chronic issues. It’s estimated as many as five out of six children will have at least one ear infection by their third birthday. Another 30% will have had multiple episodes. While every child gets sick from time-to-time, a repeated barrage of infections is a sign of a deeper issue that hasn’t been solved. When ear infections can cause permanent hearing loss when left unattended, it’s important to take action once you suspect something’s wrong.

Medical studies are compiled on a yearly basis to track the rate of hearing loss and congenital abnormalities of the ear throughout the country. It’s estimated one in every 1,000 newborns or so will be born each year with a significant amount of hearing loss. Although genes are responsible for the majority of hearing loss in children at 60%, ear infections are a significant contributor. Surgeries that repair the eardrum have a success rate ranging from 85% to 90%, meaning your child is in good hands when it’s time to get serious about reducing painful ear infections.

Perhaps your child doesn’t suffer from ear infections, but rather, sinus infections. Often attributed to mere allergies or annoying colds, sinus infections are notoriously insidious and easy to overlook. When they keep cropping up no matter all your hard work, it’s more than possible airway reconstruction is a resource you’ll need to tap into. Opening up your child’s airways permanently will make it more difficult to trap the bacteria that contributes to repeat sinus infections. Not only will this mitigate your child’s pain, it can even help them sleep better at night.

Sleeping disorders are very common in America. They come in different degrees of severity and can be boiled down to a dozen unique issues, all of which children are far from immune from. Airway reconstruction can assist with breathing difficulties that make basic sleep a chore. Nearly 10% of children snore on a regular basis. Around 4% of this population, however, have OSA (or obstructive sleep apnea). This condition is known for its annoying interruptions in the middle of the night, with some having up to 60 apneas in a single hour.

Swollen and infected tonsils can also make it hard to sleep. Over 300,000 tonsillectomies are performed for adults and children alike on a yearly basis. Tonsils left to their own devices will only get more painful over time, contributing to sinus infections, chronic snoring and even permanent jaw pain. Children with enlarged tonsils were nearly four times likely to experience symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing down the line.

A lack of sleep can make your child irritable, unfocused and even increase their risk of catching the common cold. Your REM cycle is responsible for bolstering your immune system over the course of the night and repairing the wear-and-tear left by the day’s activities. Since your child is still growing, proper development needs to be implemented early on so it doesn’t become a problem in adulthood. Visit with your regular doctor instead of waiting for another issue to crop up during the year.

Airway reconstruction surgery or a tonsil removal may be what you’ve both been looking for all this time.