Little Ears and Noses

 

Almost all the conditions affecting the ear, nose and throat of adults can affect children. However, your child has additional growth and developmental needs and therefore presenting symptoms may be different or more challenging.

 

Mr Giblett recognises the additional needs and worries of little minds and as a specialist paediatric Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon aims to put both child and parent at ease throughout their patient journey. 

  

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Tonsils & Adenoids

 

Symptoms caused by enlargement of the adenoids and tonsils include recurrent tonsillitis, snoring associated with breath-holding and sleep disturbance, blocked nose, smelly breath and difficulty swallowing.

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As well as your child struggling day-to-day, leaving those symptoms untreated may have long term consequences and many children will benefit from an operation. 

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Mr Giblett offers both the traditional extracapsular tonsillectomy procedure as well as an ablative surgical technique using the coblation system to remove adenoid and tonsil tissue. This can make the operation less painful, reduce the operative risk and allow your child to recover more quickly.

 

Please be reassured both procedures will be discussed at your consultation to see which procedure is right for your child.

 

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Glue Ear

 

Hearing is essential for the development of speech and language. Impairment of hearing during childhood can be due to inherited nerve deafness but much more commonly due to acquired deafness due to fluid or 'glue’ in the middle ear. 

 

This commonly presents as hearing difficulties but also speech & language impairment or behavioural issues. The ears can also misbehave, giving rise to earache, recurrent ear infections, ringing and balance problems.

 

For a lot of children glue ear will resolve without help but at times grommets can be a very effective way to allow ears to breathe and alleviate symptoms.

 

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Tongue tie

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Tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) is quite a common condition and can become apparent at different developmental stages. The effect of a tongue-tie can be quite variable depending on the shape and position of the tongue attachment. Tongue-tie can restrict the movement of the tongue and this can affect breast-feeding, eating, dribbling and clarity of speech.

 

If tongue-tie does require surgical release this can usually be offered by Mr Giblett in clinic without the need of anaesthetic for those under 6 months of age. Bigger people may also benefit from tongue-tie release but anaesthetic will be recommended.

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Other

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Children also have other non-specific symptoms or very individualised needs, if you are uncertain as to whether an ENT surgeon can help your child please get in touch with Mr Giblett for advice.