'Why did I have this surgery?' Ont. mother seeks answers after son's tonsil surgery

An Ontario mother said it looked like a horror movie when she flicked on the lights of her son’s bedroom to find him projectile vomiting blood after his tonsils were removed at McMaster Children’s Hospital.

An Ontario mother said it looked like a horror movie when she flicked on the lights of her son’s bedroom to find him projectile vomiting blood after his tonsils were removed at McMaster Children’s Hospital.

“This was the scariest thing I had ever seen in my life,” Donna Hamilton, the mother of the then five-year-old Hank, said recalling her son’s tonsillectomy in April 2023.

The common surgical procedure, in which the tonsils are removed, often treats repeated infections and sleep-related breathing issues. The procedure varies in necessity, depending on the patient’s condition.

Like all surgical procedures, tonsillectomies come with risks of complications, but in the wake of two children's deaths after the procedure, some parents have questioned its necessity.

“Why did I have this surgery? Why did I put his life in danger?”

According to Dr. Sam Daniel, Surgeon-in-Chief of Montreal Children’s Hospital, the decision to move forward with the procedure is ultimately tied to the impact the condition has on a child’s quality of life.

Hank’s tonsils were removed to help with sleep apnea and mucus in his nose disrupting his breathing. Seven days after his surgery, he started eating solid food, which Hamilton took as a good sign.