MBR Bookwatch: May 2019
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575
Please Explain Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy to Me
Laurie Zelinger, PhD. & Perry Zelinger, M.D. authors
9781615994199, $27.95, HC, 42pp
9781615994182, $17.95 PB, $5.95, Kindle, www.amazon.com
Please Explain Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy, 3rd Ed
Please Explain Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy To Me: A Complete Guide to Preparing Your Child for Surgery is an excellent guide to prepare parents (who help prepare their children) for tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy.
This third edition of the title provides information to caregivers about the following: Simply explained facts about tonsils and adenoids, anxiety reducing information about surgery and recovery, ways to support your child through both medical and emotional pitfalls due to the procedure, suggested use of scripts to guide conversations with a child regarding the procedure, demystifying the sequence of events leading up to surgery and recovery, plus how best to prepare for this, discover needed supplies for home care while the child recovers, explaining possible unforeseen complications, and gaining confidence that you as a caretaker/parent have done your best to prepare for your child’s comforts and adjustment to the time before and after surgery.
Please Explain Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy to Me is organized on a timeline: First is making the decision to have surgery, and underlying causes, second is introducing the topic to the child before surgery, divided into 3-4 weeks before and 2-3 weeks before surgery, phase three is a countdown to the day of surgery, and phase 4 deals with the day of surgery, before, during and after, including at home after surgery.
Following are two handy sections detailing an ultimate preparation list (for the caregiver and child), and a caregiver’s organizer.
Appendices A and B deal with a timeline review and information about complications, including bleeding, infection, anesthesia reactions, and dehydration. There are numerous references and suggestions for further reading, books and videos for children as well.
A special section is also included on Page 20-21 called Explaining it all to your 3-7 year old. Please Explain tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy to Me is an excellent resource for parents and caregivers of children who are candidates for these surgeries. It is created by a team of parents who experienced the surgical procedure with their own child, and used their experience to create a helpful guidebook for other parents and caregivers.
Although the manual is directed towards adults, its calming effects and information have direct impact upon the well being of the child undergoing surgery. Calming color illustrations provide background information in a neutral and nonthreatening fashion, and an overall positive, cheery tone helps both adults and children believe in the immediacy of recovery.
Nancy Lorraine
Senior Reviewer
