Abstract

• Objectives
  There are controversial evidences that children gain weight to a significant extent after adenotonsillectomy, usually associated with a general improvement in health. This study is aimed to evaluate the growth disturbance in children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy and the effect of adenotonsillectomy on subsequent growth in them.
• Methods
  Ninty-one children adenotonsillectomized had their weights recorded preoperatively, and reweighted twelve months after surgery.
• Results
  The results showed the patients were generally not underweighted before surgery. Their median weight was on the 59.5 percentile. Their weights after surgery had increased by an average of 20 percent over what would have been expected. This increase in weight was not confined to underweight children but to the entire group.
• Conclusion
  Upper airway obstruction resulting from adenotonsillar hypertrophy might be suspected as a possible cause in the workup of children with suboptimum growth.
• Keywords: Adenotonsillar hypertrophy; Adenotonsillectomy; Growth