Childhood should be a joy, but if illness strikes there are experts on hand to get your child back up and running.

Parents only ever want the best for their children and this is never more important than when they are ill. Ear, nose and throat conditions are common in childhood and treatment needs to be carefully tailored to each child’s individual and specific needs.

Ear problems include perforated drums, glue ear, deafness, infections, tinnitus, foreign bodies and dizziness.

Nose conditions range from blockages and foreign bodies to catarrh and sinusitis, while tonsillitis, drooling and breathing difficulties affect the throat.

The good news is there have been many advances in the treatment of ear, nose and throat conditions in recent years and this is where consultant ENT surgeon Mr Gaurav Kumar and his expert multidisciplinary team can help.

• Glue ear can be helped by inserting a small ventilation tube called grommet or otovent balloon, which is blown up to open blocked airways.
• Tonsillitis can be successfully treated using the coblation technique, which has faster recovery times than more traditional methods.
• Ear problems can be treated with endoscopic ear surgery using an ultra high definition 4K endoscope. This technique has been pioneered by Mr Kumar.

FIVE COMMON CONDITIONS in children

1. Tonsillitis is common in children and may have a negative impact on school attendance. If a child has frequent recurring bouts, he or she may benefit from a tonsillectomy.

2. Glue ear or fluid behind the eardrum affects children, particularly in the early years. Persistent glue ear can slow speech and hearing development, and therefore school performance.

3. Large tonsils or a blockage in the nose can disrupt a child’s sleep and even cause choking at night. An ear, nose and throat specialist can make an accurate diagnosis and offer treatment.

4. Frequent ear infections can affect hearing and school performance. This could be due to a hole in the ear drum or cholesteatoma (abnormal skin growth in the ear). An experienced ear surgeon can manage these conditions.

5. Prominent ears is a physical problem caused by the cartilage inside the ear. Sometimes called ‘bat ears’, it can lead to teasing, reduced self-esteem and poor performance at school. Fortunately, it can be successfully treated.

Recurrent sore throat due to tonsillitis can affect both children and adults. It can be associated with temperature, neck lumps, painful swallow, rash, and headache. Frequent stone formation in the tonsil can lead to tonsillitis as well as bad breath. Enlarged tonsils can lead to sleep apnea and can affect the quality of sleep your child.

If unfortunately, these symptoms become persistent and start to affect school attendance
and work then, in consultation with Ear Nose throat surgeon you may be advised having Tonsillectomy done. Tonsillectomy is a surgical procedure to remove tonsils.

Now there is an alternative way to do Tonsillectomy?

There are several ways to perform a tonsillectomy. COBLATION technology uses low-temperature radiofrequency energy with saline to create a plasma field. COBLATION technology dissolves issue molecule by molecule, resulting in a precise removal of targeted tissue. By generating significantly lower temperatures than electrosurgery, the COBLATION process minimizes damage to
surrounding healthy tissue. Leading to much less pain and quick recovery.

Another method is Electrosurgery. Electrosurgery uses electrical energy to remove the tonsils. This electrical energy generates very high heat to rupture cells and vaporize tonsil tissue. This sometimes causes significant damage such as burning and charring at the surgical site.

Mr Kumar can discuss both methods with you as he has been performing tonsillectomy on both adult and children for last 20 years.

Ear problems can be very distressing. Sound entering the ear canal moves ear drum. This vibrates the small bones of hearing called ossicles and this, in turn, moves fluid in the inner ear to convert sound signal to electrical signal. This is interpreted by the brain.

Ear problems like wax in the ear canal, ear infections, otosclerosis and ear drum perforation can affect your hearing. To make the diagnosis, good detailed history, examination and special hearing tests are required. As ear is one of the special senses, you should always trust ear specialist with extensive experience.

Conditions in which ear surgeon can help

1. Cholesteatoma: It is the collection of epidermal tissue in the middle ear which is locally invasive and destructive.

2. Glue ear: It is a condition in which middle ear which is usually filled with air gets replaced by fluid. In most cases, it clears without treatment. In some cases, ventilation tube called grommets may be required.

3. Otosclerosis: It is a condition in which one small bone of hearing gets fixed. It can be treated with hearing aid or surgically.

4. Perforated ear drum: It is the condition which can be due to chronic ear infection, trauma due to sudden loud noise or change in pressure while flying.

5. Sudden sensorineural hearing loss: It is the unexplained rapid hearing loss which may require emergency medical treatment. The main treatment is early intervention with oral steroids with or without steroid injection in the ear.