What is the recommended age for a child to have surgery for snoring, and will the problem recur?

There is technically no recommended age for a child to undergo surgery for snoring! What is most important is to have the child properly examined to find out why he is snoring, assess how severe the snoring is and finally, how badly it is affecting the child.

The concern is that your 5 year old may be suffering from a condition called paediatric obstructive sleep apnea due to his enlarged adenoids and tonsil tissue. This means he may not be breathing adequately at night while asleep so that there may be abnormally low dips in his oxygen saturation levels. Often children at this age may also suffer allergic rhinitis leading to enlarged turbinate tissue which blocks their nose further.

If anti-allergy meds haven't helped, then I'm afraid the best way forward is probably to have surgery to remove the adenoids and tonsils and shrink the turbinates to help your child breathe better. Tonsils can't gorw back though there is a tiny 0.5 % chance the adenoids may rarely grow back. The turbinates may swell up again in future too if the underlying allergy problem isn't treated properly. Make sure your child gets an allergy test too.

However, please take note that every child is different and therefore should be assessed carefully. I think it would be extremely helpful for you to read the following informative link on common childhood conditions.

Thank you for your question. I have addressed your previous question here:

https://www.human.com.sg/questions/what-are-effective-non-surgical-treatment-options-for-a-snoring-child

Surgical removal of the tonsils and adenoids (Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy respectively) are effective treatments in children with snoring and OSA. Age is not really a factor when considering tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy.

These surgeries are indicated if your child has snoring and symptoms suggestive of OSA (e.g. loud snoring, "choking" episodes during sleep, feeling tired/cranky during the day, behavioural issues etc) and have large adenoids and tonsils. Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy can be done in children as young as two years old onwards.

The chances of regrowths of tonsils and adenoids are very low if the surgery was done effectively. The chances of turbinate regrowth depends on the method of turbinate reduction used and if your child has severe nasal allergies. For young children, aggressive surgery to the turbinates are not usually recommended as there is a higher risk of bleeding and crusting. In Singapore, the two most common ways used by ENT Specialists to reduce the size of turbinates in children in a safe and effective manner is by using coblation or radiofrequency ("microwave" energy).

This involves passing a needle probe into the soft tissue of the turbinates. High energy/heat is administered through the probe to induce scarring/shrinkage of the turbinates over the next few weeks.

This is a safe and effective turbinate reduction method in children, although compared to more aggressive turbinate reduction procedures (e.g turbinoplasty), the risk of recurrence/needing a repeat procedure is higher. In older children and adults, radiofrequency or coblation of the turbinates can be done under local anaesthesia. Even if the procedure has to be repeated when your son is older, do be assured that it is simple to perform, often well tolerated and has minimal side effects.

Hope this helps and all the best!