Editing Adenoid (section)

==Clinical significance==

{{Main|Adenoid hypertrophy}}

=== Enlargement ===
[[File:Adenoid hypertrophy.jpg|thumb|258x258px|3D still showing adenoid hypertrophy.]]

An enlarged adenoid, or [[adenoid hypertrophy]], can become nearly the size of a [[ping pong ball]] and completely block airflow through the nasal passages. Even if the enlarged adenoid is not substantial enough to physically block the back of the nose, it can obstruct airflow enough so that breathing through the nose requires an uncomfortable amount of work, and inhalation occurs instead through an open mouth. The enlarged adenoid would also obstruct the nasal airway enough to affect the voice without actually stopping nasal airflow altogether.

Symptomatic enlargement between 18 and 24 months of age is not uncommon, meaning that [[snoring]], nasal airway obstruction and obstructed breathing may occur during sleep. However, this may be reasonably expected to decline when children reach school age, and progressive shrinkage may be expected thereafter.{{Citation needed|date=May 2018}}

===Adenoid facies===
Enlargement of the adenoid, especially in children, causes an atypical appearance of the face, often referred to as ''adenoid facies''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jefferson|first=Yosh|date=2017-02-01|title=Mouth breathing: adverse effects on facial growth, health, academics, and behavior|journal=General Dentistry|volume=58|issue=1|pages=18–25; quiz 26–27, 79–80|issn=0363-6771|pmid=20129889}}</ref> Features of adenoid facies include [[mouth breathing]], an elongated face, prominent incisors, [[hypoplastic]] [[maxilla]], short upper lip, elevated nostrils, and a high arched palate.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://radiopaedia.org/articles/adenoid-facies-2 |title=Adenoid facies |series=Radiology Reference Article |website=Radiopaedia.org |last=Wahba |first=Mohammed |access-date=2016-11-06}}</ref>

===Removal ===
Surgical removal of the adenoid is a procedure called [[adenoidectomy]]. Adenoid infection may cause symptoms such as excessive [[mucus]] production, which can be treated by its removal. Studies have shown that adenoid regrowth occurs in as many as 19% of the cases after removal.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lesinskas|first1=Eugenijus|last2=Drigotas|first2=Martynas|date=2009-04-01|title=The incidence of adenoidal regrowth after adenoidectomy and its effect on persistent nasal symptoms|journal=European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology|volume=266|issue=4|pages=469–473|doi=10.1007/s00405-008-0892-5|issn=1434-4726|pmid=19093130|s2cid=31941117 }}</ref> Carried out through the mouth under a [[general anaesthetic]] (or less commonly a [[topical anesthetic|topical]]), adenoidectomy involves the adenoid being [[curette]]d, [[cauterization|cauterized]], [[Laser surgery|lasered]], or otherwise [[Ablation#Medicine|ablated]]. The adenoid is often removed along with the [[palatine tonsil]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Adenoids |url=https://medlineplus.gov/adenoids.html |publisher=MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine |access-date=23 July 2023 |date=13 September 2022}}</ref>