Palate Hanging Low after Tonsilectomy

I have the exact same thing, following a tonsillectomy 3 1/2 weeks ago. Feels like everything else is pretty much healed, but my soft palate and uvula are swollen and hanging lower than pre-op. I saw my consultant last week and mentioned this - he said that the full healing process takes time and that the inflammation should go down in time. Not sure how long it will take, but hoping it does return to normal in another week or two. I wonder if you've seen any improvement since you posted this?

I am now 5 weeks post op. I don't think the actually palate is any higher but I think I've adjusted to the feeling of it being lower a bit more. My uvula is not swollen at all (the swelling was pretty much gone for me by week 3) but sometimes feel as though it's sitting on the back of my tongue because the palate is hanging lower. It's strange but some days I feel as though I notice it more than others. I am not really having any of the swallowing issues, at least only very infrequently at this point. I think what your doctor said is very true: the healing continues to go on and we will see how the end result of how our mouths feel some months from now. I read on either this board or another one, that one woman was told by her doctor that full and complete healing could take 6 months! I have also read that the larger your tonsil area was (big tonsils, deeper and more tissue needing to be removed) the more obvious these palate sensations might be. Who knows!

Thought you might be interested to hear that I spoke to someone (via email) who had a similar soft palate experience after a tonsillectomy. They report that, some months on, their uvula is now much more visible than it had been - so the soft palate must therefore be hanging higher... They mentioned that the uvula is not quite as high as it had been pre-op, but it's reassuring to know that in time the situation can improve. Every experience is no doubt different (no guarantees etc) but it was good to hear this nonetheless. I'm going to try and be patient, forget about it and assess in a month or two...

I am now 6 months post op for a tonsilectommy and I still have the feeling that the soft palate is hanging low. The Uvula still hangs down and touches my tongue - it seems to be ok some days then some days still feels very swollen especially in the morning. I am sure that cigarettes and alcholol may have delayed the healing process, however I am 6 months on and still having problems

I am 5 months post op now and it's slowly been getting better but still noticing a few problems... Think the palate is slowly rising but do still occasionally have odd feeling in my throat... My theory is that this might be linked to scar tissue which takes time to loosen up post op... I read on a forum that several people had had issues with scar tissue after tonsillectomies - one said that a consultant had confirmed it can be an issue but said that it always does soften... And guess it takes differing amount of time depending on amount of scar tissue, health, lifestyle etc...

Not sure whether this will be relevant to you but either way good luck with it...

I am over 6 months post-op. (69/f) The metallic taste turned to salty taste after 4 1/2 months and my taste buds are still really screwed up. My uvula is touching the back of my tongue (second opinion from another ENT who scoped my throat). When I went to the original ENT with my concerns, he glanced in my mouth for about 10 seconds (didn't use a scope) and said he did a good job and everything is normal. He treated me like I was paranoid with my complaints. He said he never heard of them. I told him that the bloggers on-line said their doctors said the same thing, and he said, "oh, I've heard of them but never had a patient that had them." I know one of his patients that has had the same symptoms for over 3 years! He never mentioned the possible side effects before surgery. In addition to my taste buds, I feel like I have a finger in my throat 24/7. My new ENT told me that he couldn't find anything and when I told him it felt like my uvula, he told me that it was touching the back of my tongue, but he thought I would have gotten used to it by now and wouldn't feel it. He told me that to reduce the size of the uvula can be as painful as the tonsillectomy! I can't believe how life altering this is. I had lost 40 lbs. on weight watchers. Now I gag on the foods I used to love. Only benefit is I don't crave food because it all tastes horrible.

Did it resolve itself. I must admit that I am now 9 months post tonsilectommy and feel that my soft pallet is still hanging low, some days not so bad and some days fell like the uvula is resting on my tongue. Has your settled down now?

i am curious to how you are feeling now? my pallate and uvula hanging low and it scares me sometimes. dr says it is from acid reflux i barley eat anything because of the feeling it has when i do eat i have lost 40 lbs!!!! so i know darn well it is not acid reflux! . would love to hear back from you. thank you

In my case, my palate/uvula started to noticeably rise/shrink back around 6 months post-op. It's still rising now, 8 months post-op and is starting to feel and look a lot more normal.

My theory is that the improvement could be linked to scar tissue from the operation starting to loosen up, but who knows.

It does seem ridiculous that this potential complication doesn't seem to be widely discussed by consultants pre-op. It was certainly not mentioned to me.

You're right. They blame it on everything but themselves. It has been 9 months post op for me, and a person that comes in my office has had symtoms like mine for almost 4 years. Feeling like a finger is in my throat, a metallic taste in my mouth and screwed up tastebuds (all 24/7). I went to a different doctor (mine looked in my throat for 10 seconds and said everything was perfect). The new doctor used a scope and told me that my uvula is resting on the back of my tongue. He thought I would get used to it and not notice it, but I am still waiting. He also explained more about location of taste buds and that it didn't have to be that traumatic. Right now it is really bad. The metallic/jsalty taste and horrible taste buds are always present. I was 69 at the time of surgery and he treated me like a 6 year old. Outpatient! I had to go to the emergency room the next day to get hydrated, He told me there was a good chance there was cancer under the tonsil....and he bragged afterwards like it was because of him that there wasn't. After reading many articles I believe that many ENT doctors make a fortune because they book so many tonsillectomies in a day. The time between when I left pre-op to coming back to recovery was 25 minutes !!!!@!!!!!! It's like they don't even try to protect the taste buds, etc.

Is anyone still on here?  How does it feel now?  I am about 5 weeks postop & having same issue.

 

Have previously posted about this - in my case things gradually improved over time - am now about a year on from op and it doesn't bother me anymore... So for me it was just a matter of being patient. i think it's linked to scar tissue healing but could be wrong...

I am slightly encouraged to read this thread. I am just over 7 months out from my tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy and my soft palate/uvula are still hanging low. My uvula is always touching my tongue. Not only is this annoying but often when I drink I can feel liquid go up to my nasal passage and there are foods that I cannot taste well...I have to move the air in my mouth purposefully to get the full taste. I also can no longer whistle low notes and my singing is off. I really really hope this will resolve as others have described above! My primary Dr said I need a uvuloplasty and that it is painful. From what I have been reading, they cannot guarantte that I will get full function back, in fact it seems more like that I will always residual issues and that the ones I have now may be better than I can get 'fixing them'.

My ENT blew off my concerns too. When I brought it up again, he just said that "sometimes you take a little too much." and said kind of cavalier that we can always go back in and do some reconstruction. Heck NO with him. If he saw it hanging low when he left it why would I him him to go back in and do more shotty work?

 

If anyone here has had positive healing with this issue please respond! Or if you had yours fixed please also respond!

I am almost 3 months post-op (48/F). A few weeks after the operation I noticed that it was hard for me to stick my tongue out. I tried to lick top of my yogurt cup and I couldn't really lick it. Today I looked in the mirror and noticed that the back right side of my tongue has attached itself to the site of the tonsillectomy-- no wonder I had a hard time sticking my tongue out. I'm not sure if this is "normal" and I don't know what they can do about. I plan to call the ENT today.