"Doctor, I heard adenoids are immune organs. If we remove them, will the child's immunity decline and will they get sick all the time?" This is the biggest dilemma in many parents' minds.

Does removing the adenoids really reduce a child's immunity?

The answer is: provided the surgical indications are met, removal of hypertrophic adenoids usually does not lead to decreased immunity in children; on the contrary, it may be beneficial to the immune system by improving overall health.

Adenoids are indeed lymphoid tissue in the nasopharynx and are part of our immune system.

Their primary role is to recognize and capture bacteria and viruses that invade via the nose and mouth, produce corresponding antibodies, and initiate immune responses. This function is most active in children aged 3–5 years.

As age increases, other immune organs (such as the tonsils and the systemic immune system) gradually mature and strengthen, and the role of the adenoids correspondingly diminishes. The vast majority of children's adenoids begin to involute naturally after age 6–7.

The tissue to be removed is the adenoid that has become abnormally enlarged due to recurrent inflammation and pathological hyperplasia.

An enlarged adenoid can:

Obstruct the airway: causing the child to breathe through the mouth long-term, snore, and experience sleep apnea, leading to cerebral hypoxia and affecting physical growth and intellectual development.

Become a nidus for bacterial growth: it has lost its normal defensive function, and its recessed crypts trap debris and pathogens, instead becoming a focus that continually releases bacteria into the body.

Adenoidal facies: Long-term mouth breathing can affect facial bone development, leading to an often irreversible adenoidal facies—short everted upper lip, retrognathia, malocclusion, etc.

Effects on overall health: Chronic hypoxia can impair cardiac and pulmonary function and even affect a child's height and attention.

Numerous long-term clinical follow-up studies have also confirmed that children who underwent adenoidectomy show no significant differences in immune indicators or infection frequency postoperatively compared with healthy children of the same age.

This article is for reference only and is not a basis for diagnosis or treatment. If you have related symptoms, please seek medical advice from a professional physician promptly.