Adenoids - Endoscopic View

The adenoids are a mass of lymphoid tissue in the roof of the nasopharynx (contribute to the Waldeyer's ring). Significant enlargement of this lesions is common in paediatric patients and could obstruct upper airways. The common symptoms are mouth breathing, snoring and impaired hearing. Other problems include snoring, obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSA), postnasal drips, persistent glue ear, acute otitis media or sinusitis. Spontaneous shrinkage usually happens when the child reaches adolescent years. Laryngologist can remove symptomatic lesions (sometimes in combination with tonsillectomy). If this part is not readily visualized using anterior rhinoscopy technique, nasal endoscopy can be useful. The case of an uninfected adenoids (moderate size) is shown.