It is surgery season at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta:prime time for operations like tonsillectomies and ACL repairs.
Last year,Children's four surgical centers performed almost 29,000 operations – many during the school break. The summer time gives kids plenty of time to recover without missing school.
Kate Stolle, 6, recently went in for her first surgery – a tonsillectomy. Stolle had never had surgery or even spent a night the hospital. But she does know about sore throats; Kate missed 10 days of school last year because of them.
"Every month, she'll have three or four days of a very high fever and yucky sore throat and headache and swollen glands," said Kate's mother, Ashley Stolle.
Stolle was one of 55 children undergoing operation on a recent day at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's Outpatient Surgery Center at Meridian Mark.
Pediatric ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. Bryan Herrmann says children usually need at least 7 to 10 days to rest and recovery from a tonsillectomy. That's why the summer break is surgery season for kids like Kate.
"The whole way through, they've been very good about explaining everything, showing her, asking her opinion about stuff, asking her questions about it," said Ashley Stolle.
When it's time, Ashley and Kate walk together into the operating room. Mom is right behind Kate as the anesthesia mask is placed over her mouth. The surgical teams performed 1,047 tonsillectomies last year. Kate's takes just a half hour.
Just like promised, mom and dad are there when Kate wakes up. In an hour and a half, Kate was on her way home.
A week after her surgery, Kate's mom said she is doing well.She had a serious sore throat, but within a couple days was asking for her favorite foods. Her mom's new challenge is keeping the first-grader on one more week of bed rest.
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Kate Stolle, 6, recently went in for her first surgery – a tonsillectomy.
