If your DC has tubes

Andrewsgal

DS is on EI number 4 in 3 months I called today to make an appointment with the ENT. I assume tubes will be the solution. Or will they try something else first? What can I expect at the first appointment? How long from appointment to surgery? How long is the surgery? Does your DC still get EIs after tubes and have you noticed a difference with overall health? TIA

lilpiglet

For my DS he showed a complete difference after he got the tubes.  DS2 had 4 EI in a row, and was on 4 different antibiotics, nothing would clear it.  he had a pattern, he would get an EI, go to the dr. be on medicine for 10 days, come off medicine and 3 days later EI was back.  When we saw the ENT specialist, they checked his ears, pressure, etc.  he had some fluid in one ear, but it wasn't infected, so the ENT wanted to wait it out.  Sure enough 3 days later we went to the pedi with an EI, they sent us right back to the ENT and we scheduled surgery, 2 weeks later he had the tubes put in.  He has had one small EI since the tubes, but they give you antibiotic drops that are way better then any oral antibiotic that you can get, so at the first sign of an EI (for DS it was liquid yellow water type stuff coming out his ear) I started the drops and it was gone, no dr. visit or anything.  I did call the ENT to confirm that what i was seeing was the start of an EI. 

Tubes was def. the best thing we did for DS #2... he got the tubes in Feb. and has been the best little sleeper, since.  (For us, a sure sign that DS's EI came back was he screamed when we layed him down at night)

KoriBrett

Our situation was a little different in that he'd had EI's forever and the fluid never drained, even when healthy, they were still filled.  So no, they went right to tubes.  The ENT appointment was a quick ear check, some questions, and then she went over everything invovled w/getting them done.  Took 5? weeks to get him in after that for the surgery.  He's had one EI with the tubes, he got them in last August.  Overall health, meh, he's just happier because he's not in pain. 

The surgery was an hour of prep where you meet the doc, anesthesiologist, etc.  Kid gets versed and tylenol (amnesiac to make them foggy and not hysterical).  Kid goes back, 15minutes later you get called to recovery and have a VERY cranky hysterical child.  We were in recovery for 45min, then we went home.  Sleepy the rest of the day but otherwise fine, lots of goop from the ears.  Got antibiotic ear drops to give for 3 days.

As far as yours goes, honestly it sounds to me like maybe the first couple rounds of antibiotics didn't work, and it's just the same ear infection that didn't quite clear up yet.  That happened to us a LOT until we finally got to the point where we started on the higher level antibiotics.

Either way - good luck, ear stuff sucketh royal donkey balls.

mamarazzi

DS2 had chronic ear infections (or one solid one) from October until March.  His ears never cleared up at all, despite several rounds of different antibiotics.

We saw the ENT.  He looked in his ears, asked some questions and said he was a prime candidate if we wanted to do the tubes.  I think it was about two weeks between that appointment and the surgery.

The surgery was a cinch.  The biggest issue was not feeding him since his appointment was at 10:30 (had to be there at 9:30), but it wasn't all that bad.  We met with the nurse, the doc and the anesthesiologist.  DS did great!  He didn't even cry when they wheeled him away (and he wasn't given any anti-anxiety meds).  He was super hungry and thirsty after the surgery, but otherwise in great spirits.  He seemed to be in a bit of pain for a few days afterward and had some drainage, but he's been much happier since (except that he's teething, but that's irrelevant).  Three weeks after the surgery, he started STTN, which is miraculous considering he'd been getting up 3-4 times nightly prior to that.

He hasn't had an EI since, but it's only been about a month. 

heyitsme

DD came down with her first EI on January 4th or 5th... and we went through 4 rounds of antibiotics, each one stronger than before, before we went to the ENT. We got a rush referral (within 48 hours of getting the referral we had an appointment) because her ears were not clear, and by then it was March! The ENT said tubes immediately... they were done a week later. We were in the pre-op room with her for about 20 minutes...they gave her Versed or something to make her sleepy but it didn't do much. I went with her into the room where they gave her anesthesia with a mask and she was out in 3 or 4 seconds... and it was only about 20 minutes later that they came and said she was done! We went to the recovery and stayed with her as she came to... she was groggy but did well. She never had an EI after that. But for us, we saw such a HUGE improvement in her hearing and speech all of the sudden. For the next few days, every single noise was, "What's that, Mama?" (birds chirping)  "What's that, Mama?" (a car horn honking). It was as if she had been listening to the world through earmuffs for months.

KoriBrett

Forgot to add - he finally STTN for the first time in 16months, on the way home from surgery he was noticing new noises, and he finally started talking a couple months later.  His hearing and disposition improved drastically.

jlw2505

My DD got them last July.  I know she had a lot of ear infections that never really went away hence the referral.  We had her appointment, not very long, asked me questions and checked her ears.  He had her full chart since its all on the computer and knew her history.  We were able to get her in for surgery about 2 weeks later.  Surgery is not very long - I think we were at the hospital a few hours and then came home, she had lunch and played for a bit, took a long nap and was back to her normal self and not an infection since.  As of March (her well visit with ped) her tubes were still in and we were told they typically stay in for about a year and we'll get rechecked at that point.  Follow up will either be more tubes if she starts getting infections again or to make sure the hole closes up.  If she does get an ear infection with tubes, its super easy to take care of as you just use drops and my ENT gave me the drops that day of surgery so you don't even need to see a ped - you would see the stuff coming out of the ear.

Almost forgot, they did a hearing test at the 1st ENT visit and my DD had some hearing lose.  When tested at her surgery follow-up, her hearing was back to normal

AshlynsMom

Tubes were a godsend for us!  She had 8 EIs by the time she was 6 months.  We waited until 12 months to let her ears develop a little more, but could have done it sooner, like within a few weeks of the appt. with the ENT.  Basically, the ENT looked at her and her charts and said she needed tubes, explained why and how they worked, etc.  Pretty straight forward. 

The surgery is super short--like 30 minutes.  By the time I kissed her, came back out to the waiting room and started to cry, the doctor was back to tell us she was in recovery.  The time when she was coming out of the anesthesia was horrible, though.  Apparently, it's very common for kids to scream and freak out, which she did--for two hours--because they feel weird as the drugs wear off and they don't know what's going on. 

We saw an improvement immediately.  Like that day.  Her speech improved so much right away, because she could hear the words better and then repeat.  She's now almost 5 (!!!) and she's had maybe three or four ear infections since the tubes.  (Those are gross, because all the gunk drains out of the tube/ear and onto her face/pillow/hair/etc.  Yuck!  But better than a miserable kid, I guess.)