Family Care ENT
2025-12-10T17:23:19.770Z
I really wish that I took my son (7 years old) to see Dr. Matallana sooner.I made an appointment because zyrtec wasn't cutting it anymore for allergies. He was still congested, had shiners, snoring, and was mouth breathing. He had 2 or 3 ear infections within a year or so. One was a little resistant but then it cleared up. Nothing super crazy. He failed a hearing test once, then at the retake with his regular pediatrician there was an issue with the machine. He wasn't complaining at all and seemed fine so we moved along.When I took him to see Dr. Matallana, he uncovered so many issues that I felt horrible for missing but he didn't make me feel judged at all. My son's tonsils were SO enlarged. One was a grade 4. His airway was very narrow. He failed the hearing test there. Dr. Matallana made a game plan to put tubes in his ears, allergy test him, test hearing with an audiologist, start allergy shots, then perform an adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy. Especially with how swollen the one tonsil was- with no fever, no sore throat, no complaints, and a family history of lymphoma, he highly recommended taking them out and testing them.We're 3 weeks post op for the tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy and my son isn't snoring. He can breathe through his nose. The allergy shots are helping. He can hear. The pathology report came back normal. His quality of life has improved significantly. His teacher even notices a difference. My son even says how much he appreciates Dr. Mat helping him. He talks about how he can feel the difference (ie the adenoids were like big the seed pits in some fruit, and now they aren't there so there's so much room now to breathe!)Dr. Matallana does surgery at Bartow Hospital, which was a fantastic experience, both times. The staff there are very sweet, gentle, and speak to children with respect and care.The nurses, receptionists, billing, everyone that we've interacted with at Family Care ENT have been wonderful. It's been a process, but a very quick one, and everyone has been so patient, and knowledgeable.Ms. Carmen who performs the allergy testing and administers the shots is AMAZING! She's so knowledgeable and incredibly caring! She offered to teach me how to administer shots at home in case we lived far away, but my son was immediately like "oh no, I wanna keep coming here!" He said it's because I don't give him lollipops after he does something scary 🤣 he also said that he loves being able to see Ms. Carmen every week.I share this long story in hopes that if someone else experiences this similar situation with themselves or their child, don't wait. I didn't know any better. The second the pediatrician recommended allergy meds for my son I probably should have just started coming here from the start.Thank you, Dr. Matallana. Thank you to the entire staff. Thank you, Ms. Carmen. You all make a positive difference in the work you do!
I really wish that I took my son (7 years old) to see Dr. Matallana sooner.I made an appointment because zyrtec wasn't cutting it anymore for allergie... More