Adenoids are a type of lymphoid tissue located in the nasopharynx. The adenoids increase in size due to their own factors or disease, and the enlarged adenoids are a place for bacteria to hide and a major cause of nasal congestion and stagnant secretions, which can lead to sinusitis or aggravate sinusitis.
Children with adenoid hypertrophy in sinusitis can try conservative treatment, medication or surgery, with the choice of treatment option being determined by the patient’s specific situation.
Adenoid hypertrophy can lead to sinusitis; in some children, the otherwise normal adenoids can also become hyperplastic and enlarged when stimulated by pus and snot from childhood sinusitis.
The adenoids are at their peak of proliferation between the ages of 2 and 6 years and gradually shrink after the age of 10 years. For mildly enlarged adenoids, conservative interventions and medication may be sufficient if not necessary.
If the patient is severely ill and has severely restricted respiratory function, the hypertrophied adenoid tissue can be removed by cryo-plasma ablation, which rapidly restores nasal drainage and also reduces the frequency of sinusitis attacks in children.