What should my son eat at his tonsillectomy follow up?

Tonsillectomy is a common procedure for children in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and chronic tonsillitis. Most children do very well following this procedure. Often for the first few days children will have a mostly liquid diet. It is important that they stay hydrated during this time. Patients and parents are encouraged to stay away from sharp foods such as crackers, pretzels, chips, etc. to help reduce the risk of causing injury to the healing tonsil beds. The risk most patients, families and physicians are concerned about is bleeding. This usually occurs about 7-10 days after the procedure. Soft foods are encouraged to help decrease the risk of bleeding. Patients can have ice cream and usually tolerate this well. Most children are recommended to have a soft diet for the first 2 weeks and then can increase to regular diet as tolerated. You should discuss this question with your child's physician, the one who performed the surgery to remove the tonsils to ensure that you are following the diet they have recommended. It is very important to make sure that your child is drinking enough fluids for them to stay hydrated. Please discuss this with your child's physician for more information.