Adenotonsillectomy Safe in Children With Down Syndrome, Other Genetic Syndromes

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 26, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For children with Down syndrome (DS) or other genetic syndromes (OS), adenotonsillectomy seems to be safe, with a low rate of complications, according to a study published online Oct. 31 in the Ear, Nose, and Throat Journal.

Comert Sen, M.D., from Istanbul University, and colleagues examined the safety of adenotonsillectomy in a retrospective study involving 62 syndromic patients (46 DS and 16 OS) younger than 18 years of age who underwent tonsillectomy ± adenoidectomy ± ventilation tube insertion between 2010 and 2025.

The researchers found that the median hospital stay was one day, and 93.5 percent of patients were discharged after one day. Overall, 18.75 and 2.2 percent of patients with OS and DS, respectively, had two-day stays. Two patients with OS (3.2 percent) had planned intensive care unit admission. There were no emergency admissions or perioperative mortality. The overall complication rate was 8.1 percent: 8.7 and 6.3 percent in DS and OS, respectively, including bleeding requiring reoperation, respiratory event, and insufficient oral intake (1.6, 1.6, and 4.8 percent, respectively).

“This study demonstrates that adenotonsillectomy can be performed safely not only in children with DS, but also in those with less commonly studied syndromes, when performed with careful patient selection and appropriate perioperative management,” the authors write.

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