Tubes in Ears - Kidder,MO

We bought some new books that she hadnt seen before and let her run around the waiting area. We were the only ones there, and then a nice elderly couple showed up, who luckily thought she was pretty cute running around. She was really tired the next day or two and HATED having the drops put in her ears.

Hi, my little boy had tear duct surgery when he was 1 and he wasn't able to eat either, we had to leave the house at 6am and the surgery wasn't untill 9 or so. he did fine with it, we kept him occupied and afterwards he slept alot the first day then he was back to normal. She will be fine. Do not worry just pray!
S.

My oldest had tubes placed at the same age as your niece. W had an early appt. and like someone ele said had to be there an hour early. Make sure she brings a bottle or sippy cup because they will want her to suck her drink after she gets out. The only problem my son had was coming out of the anesthsia. Some people come out easy and some hard, my son was thrashing all over the plce and it was hard for me to hold on to him. The kid that was right after him came out of it like he had woken up from a nap. The other thing is that it doesn't take very long at all so make sure she stays close by. After the tubes were in he had no more ear infections. The other thing is that there will probably be drainage tat comes out, so don't be alarmed if there is stuff oozing out of her ear.

My son had tubes and you have to be at the hospital early so there isn't much time to get too upset about eating. The rest of the day afer his surgery he played and was fine. I was surprised at how easy it was. Good luck.

C.,

Hopefully she'll decide to sleep in a little later than normal. Maybe keep her up late the night before. Then keep her busy with activities before the surgery.

As far as surgery goes she will be completely normal acting after the sleepiness wears off. My daugther had the tubes done back in Feb. and she came home and slept for an hour and woke up feeling fine. You would've never known anything had been done. The tubes have been a savor for her!

Both of my children had to have tubes put in. I thought that the food and drink would also be an issue, but both of mine were a little cranky but not too bad. The actual procedure is a lot quicker than I expected, it takes less than 15 minutes and they are done, you just have to wait a little longer to go back to see them to let the anesthesia wear off a bit. When your sister goes back there, her daughter is going to be very cranky and needy. I sat there and held and rocked both of mine for a good couple of minutes after their surgery because they were fussy. Then the nurse brought them some juice (by the way, you may want to take a sippy cup or something that will be easy for her to drink from) and they gave them some pretzels to make sure that they were going to keep them down. In total, I was at the hospital for about an hour with both of them from start to finish. The after effect was different for both of my kids. My daughter had her tubes put in about a week after she turned 1 and she came home and slept for about 3 hours straight and when she woke up she was in a great mood and was playing and running around like nothing happened. My son got his tubes in at 6 months and he slept for maybe 30 minutes and then he was ready to go and was up the rest of the day and refused to take a nap. His ears were in pretty bad shape though. He had so much fluid in his ears that after he woke up, he started humming and making noises, I had never heard him make noises before except for crying. His ENT said that he probably could not hear before the surgery, or not well anyway, and when he could finally hear he was babbling like crazy. I was also told that due to that, he could have a possible speech delay or slurred speech, he is now 16 months old and talks more than any other kid his age that I have ever seen so we were fortunate there. Good luck with the tubes! If your niece has had the same issues and problems that my kids went through, your sister will be so thrilled with the tubes. Also, your niece will need to keep water from getting into her ears for about a year. I found kid-sized ear plugs at Wal-Mart and K-Mart that were fairly reasonable. They are called Mack's ear plugs and they are about $4 for 6 pair and they are re-usable. I had to buy one pack for each kid and the pack lasted me the entire time. Plus, the plugs are kind of sticky so while your hands are dry and her ears are dry, you roll the plug into a ball and stick it over the ear canal, you don't have to worry about sticking the plug into the ear. The only downfall is that if the plug does fall off while bathing, you have to really dry it off and your hands to get it to stick again. Other than that, I loved them. Again, good luck!

Hi C.,

My son had tubes in at 8 months old. He since has had 3 more sets, and is 16 years old. The tubes are good, but when they come out, you really have to watch for recurring infections and act quickly. My son was small & his tubes didn't grow enough to correct the problem.

As for the surgery, not much you can do. By the time they get to the hospital, have him prepped, etc., feeding him won't be an issue. I think they usually have you show up a couple hours early. So they'll bring him while he's still sleeping and in pj's.

The most difficult part of it for me was when they took him out of my arms. I was so scared, but everything was fine, he was back before we knew it, there wasn't much we needed to do for him. So if she can relax, stay calm, know that this is not a difficult surgery, she'll be better.

When he was a little older, we did have a difficulty with the anesthesia and that was scary. He came out of surgery, woke up, and was very disoriented, falling, crying, stuff like that. Hopefully her little one will only have the one surgery. Tell her to ask about T-tubes. I don't know if he can have them at this young age, but they are something to consider when he's older, if he needs them again.

Finally, tell her that to continually have his hearing checked by an audiologist is a good thing. The hospital gave us free screenings. Scar tissue & hole in the ear drum (or ear something) caused some temporary hearing issues for him. She wants to be in tune with seeing how he hears different tones in a few years and then follow up on it. I don't know if it was normal with most ear tube patients, but my son had to be watched so his teachers knew when he might be having difficulty. It was a problem usually when allergies were hitting him.

Sorry if this is too much info but she might benefit from hearing some of these things and then she can watch for it. Best wishes for them all. It will all be fine. L.

My son had tubes put in his ears at 4 years old. His appointment was early like that, but you have to be there like an hour early so it won't be that bad for her to wait. But when she gets up just keep her busy playing and sitting and maybe watch some cartoons or something. Make sure you take a favorite stuffed animal or something else that she can't do without when you leave for the surgery. My son actually did very well. they told me that he would be down for the rest of the day of his surgery and about an hour after we got home he was up bouncing off the walls. Make sure that the days following the surgery you keep her comfortable with pain meds that they give you. But my son has been doing very well since the tubes were put in his ears. I think that he has had one ear infection since then. When she wakes up from the surgery they will want you to hold her and sit with her while she wakes up, but other than that it will be fine.

C., I'm a little surprised about how late your niece's surgery is scheduled. They usually schedule youngest to oldest because of the NPO issue. Both my boys had this done and it seemed to me that the NPO thing was really not an issue. They are in a strange environment with strange people and they just don't seem to notice that they haven't eaten. Recovery from the tubes is NOTHING! I mean it, by 1:00 your sister will think "Hey, this is just a normal day". Now I will warn her that when coming out of the anestesia kiddos are sometimes really mad and unfortunately they are usually mad at Mom. My son was so pissed off we finally just loaded him up in the car an took him home. As soon as we drove away from the hospital he was fine. He was back in a familiar environment, Mom and Dad were there and all was right with his world.

Good Luck, M.

Hello! My daughter was 14 months when she got tubes in. She also had her adenoids taken out and the entire procedure took no more than 15 minutes. Waking up from the anethesia was not fun.. she was very angry and far from her typical happy little self. However, within minutes of getting home, she was running around and playing like nothing happened. We were all set to baby her for the day, but she had none of that!!

If she's having it done at Children's Mercy, they have TONS of toys in the pre-op room that will keep her busy before surgery. My daughter rode around in a fire truck beforehand and the drs were having to chase her down to check her vitals.

Since she is so young, I would recommend staying with routine as much as possible unless she feeds her earlier than the surgery time...if that is the case I would recommend keeping baby up longer and trying to encourage her to eat up until the time she's supposed to stop. I recommend just taking her in her pjs...whatever is most comfortable to baby. I would also take whatever comfort things she has (blankey, binkie, teddy bear, etc.

As for comfort afterwards, my guess is baby will be told to have Tylenol after surgery...just make sure she has that on hand. My little guy was most upset at that initial pain and the fact that we were separated before they knocked him out and I wasn't there when he woke up...if she can convince them that her's is the first face she sees, all the better, but most likely it won't happen. Keep on the Tylenol at the exact dosage amounts at least through first day and then as needed.

Other than that, my guy didn't have any problems post surgery past the first day. As for the mom, if you can keep her busy or her mind occupied during the surgery that is the most helpful...it's a relatively quick procedure once they get in there...the most time takes for the kiddo to wake up. If you can make her up a casserole or something so she doesn't have to worry about lunch/dinner or anything that would be most helpful then she can devote all her time to her daughter if she is having pain and needs comforting.

Hi C.-I know how scary this can be because my youngest son had tubes placed in his ears when he was 13 months old. The eating and drinking thing is hard, we just tried to occupy him with other things and play with him until his surgery. Once she has her at the hospital and they are prepping her they usually give something called "goofy juice" to help keep them calm (part tylenol, part valium). This is due to the fact that they don't actually "knock them out" for surgery they use the goofy juice along with gas to do the procedure. It took about 5-7 minutes for them to do my son and then afterward you slowly start to introduce food back to them (i.e. water, jello water and then solids) almost immediately after surgery. Once they see they she can hold food down then you are allowed to go home. They give ear drops to place in the ears for I believe a few days after the surgery and then she is done.
I know that after my son had surgery we noticed a HUGE difference in his speech development. It was almost overnight that he was speaking more clearly and then the tubes eventually fell out on their own when he was about 2. I know with us he never had another ear infection once the tubes were placed, but I know that result is not always the case.
Tell your sister not to worry...I balled like a baby the whole time that he was gone to surgery and it was really okay. The ENT actually told us that he had so much fluid on his ears that it was like he had been listening through cotton balls since he was born.
I hope that this helps...good luck and the best advice I can give you is just to be there for your niece and talk to the nurses once you get there. They will do everything that they can in order to help. Good Luck.
J.

My son had tubes as well and I had the same questions. We had to be there 2 hours before surgery...so when he woke up we changed his cloths and went out the door. We drove around a little and took our time to keep him distracted. Once we got there he was so interested in the other kids and people he never once asked for anything to eat or drink. (He couldn't have water either.)

Once you go back to your room they will give her some liquid medicine that will make her a happy little girl. My son didn't even mind when they took him back for surgery. I was shocked. The hardest part for us was his reaction to the anethesia. My son cried and couldn't be consoled for awhile after surgery even though they let me hold him and give him some juice.

Once we left the hospital he was fine. Took a little longer nap and was a little more crabby the next day, but soon he was eating, sleeping and talking better then ever.

One of the best things we could have done for him....just wish we had done it sooner. He suffered so much with his ears.

Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.

My daughter had tubes put in her ears just last June, although she was 7 she did very well - it went SO QUICK! I'm sorry but I don't have any suggestions for before the surgery - I think she can have ice chips though...? The surgery lasted only 5 or 10 minutes, no sooner had we gotten to the waiting room than they called us back to see her. I'm not sure how well your niece bounces back, but my daughter was almost her usual self about an hour or two after the surgery. The first day they want her to stay home and not overexert herself, but that's pretty much it. It may be a little different with your niece since she's only 1, but I can't imagine it being too much off. Everything should go well, the procedure is so quick these days she'll probably forget about it soon enough.

well C., my daughter had tubes put in her ears this past summer she was 1 yr and 5 months old at the time of surgery. to me the hardest thing was when she woke up and the anesthesia was wearing off there in the hospital she was a bit cranky. after we got her home she was totally fine. she was playing by lunchtime as it nothing ever happened. she was not affected in any way. when my husband came home from work that afternoon he was so amazed that she was carrying on with her normal routine.
so i hope this will work out for you sister daughter as it did for us. good luck.

My grandson just had them put in a few months back. He is 14 months now. The surgery itself is very short and they are not awake for it. When they come out of it in the recovery room, you many want to have whatever she likes to drink ready. She will be alittle grumpy and tender. My grandson slept most of the day, he pulled alittle at his ears that day after his suregery. It didn't seem to brother him after that one day. Good Luck, it will make a huge difference.

C.,
My daughter who is now 4 had tubes in when she was 9 months and then again at the age of 3. They scheduled her early enough that we didn't have to worry really about the eating she had to be there at 6:00 in the morning and then the surgery was scheduled for like 6:45. Believe it or not the worst part was her coming out of the anesthesia, make sure to bring extra cloths because sometimes they due get sick.(puke) The days after that I do not recall have any issues at all, she finally started sleeping through the night again because all of the pressure was relieved. I do believe they may have told us to give her Tylenol for the first 24 hours but that was it.
When she was 3 is all she wanted to do was go to pizza hut and eat afterwards and she did sleep a lot that day.
It was probably worse on me than her the thought of my daughter being put under...I cried.
Good luck!!

I don't know what hospital your sister is going to put most pediatric units have play areas. My son was 14 months when he got tubes and I was nervous about the same issues. We really did not have a problem with the "no eating or drinking" I thought it was going to be a problem but it was a non-issue. They bounce back pretty quickly after the surgery. I went in and got him minutes afterwards and he was already standing and ready to go home. He may have slept a little longer than usual when we got home but other than that you would have never known he had surgery. It is very nerve wracking to give your baby to one of the doctors and trust that every thing will be fine but tubes is a very common surgery and there is no pain afterwards. Good Luck!

Try to distract her as much as possible before the surgery. I know that it will be hard, it was killer on me and my husband when our daughter had tubes put in. But it helped that it was an early surgery and we had to be at the surgery center about an hour early, being in the new place with new stuff to mess with helped. Tell her to just be paitient and it will be over soon.

Afterward - my daughter was like a new kid! Right afterward the nurses gave my daughter juice and they didn't want her walking around for a little while (about an hour I think). Once they released us, she ate something when we go home, took a nap and was ready to go. The 2nd half of the day she was completly normal, her nap was a little longer but she was fine. We gave her Tylonal every 4 hours for the first day, but the next day she didn't have any pain.

My little girl had ear infections every month to 2 months before the tubes. After the tubes she had like 1 a year. They will not banish all ear infections but they will cut them way down and help them go away and to not re-accure when treated. My daughter had them so often (along with sinus infections) that we wouldn't really know when she had a new one. She didn't give the usual signs of an infection, the doctor said that being uncomfortable had become normal to her. She is 5 years old now and the last tube fell out about 4 months ago, she got an ear infection right after that and it was hard to clear up (actually was a form of staph in her ear!). The doctor is now watching her ears and she may be getting tubes again. But they do help and having them put in is really nothing!

Good luck!

My son had tubes put in at 15 months and again this past August (6 years old). Both times we kept him up as late as possible and let him have a late night treat. When he was a baby he didn't get too upset about no breakfast and even while we were in the waiting room there were toys to play with and other kids so he was plenty distracted. He did great afterwards and was up and playing as soon as we got home. You could tell that the tubes were helping almost immediately. The second time around, we talked to him about everything that was going to go on and he was prepared. His ENT gives all the kids a beanie baby before they go into the OR too, so that gets the kids happy. After the surgery, the ears will drain. Sometimes it may appear very thick, but it is supposed to do that. We had to keep wiping our son's ears in the recovery room because they were finally able to get the junk out and had somewhere to go. Hope this helps, and I hope your neice gets to feeling better.

My son and daughter both got tubes. His at 3 and hers at 19 mo. I would just try to distract her as much as possible in the morning. That is a really late surgery time. ours were at 7 am. Afterwards the nurses tell you they will probably cry when waking up because they are confused but neither of mine did. They were just really tired. And once we got home, I never would have known they had surgery. They both ran around like nothing ever happened. Had them both checked a few weeks out and they are fine. All you have to do is put some drops in the ears for a few days. And we have been SAVED from the ear infections!!!!!

My son had tubes put in his tear ducts a few months ago and was unable to eat as well. I fed him a nice big bowl of oatmeal and sippy cup of milk before bed. We didn't bother to change him out of his pajamas so he'd be more comfy in recovery. My son tends not to react well to ansthesia (sp?) and didn't want to drink much after surgery. But as soon as we got on the road home he fell back to sleep and was ready to drink/eat when he woke up. He was back to normal and back to the sitter's the next morning. My son has a lot of experience with surgeries and procedures, so he comes out of it liek a pro, but each kid is different.