Looks like DS is getting tubes...what were your experiences?

goteami6 · June 2011

First of all, thank you to everyone who gave me recommendations for Pediatric ENT's in the Herndon/Reston area.

We ended up going with Otolaryngology Associates P.C. where we saw Dr. Batti and he was just fantastic with DS, was very kind, did a great job explaining everything and giving us our options.

So we are about to schedule our surgery appointment and I was wondering what were your experiences with the surgery & recovery. How long did it take for LO to come out of the anesthesia, how long were they in recovery, when were they back to normal activity (right away, a day or three)? Any information you can provide would be appreciated. Sorry for all the questions, but I am nervous even though I know it is a routine surgery and he will be so much more comfortable afterwards.

Thanks Ladies!

Artslvr · June 2011

We used Oto. Assoc. to do DD #2's ear tubes when she was 1 year old. The procedure is really fast (mercifully) and right afterwards you wait for your kid in this room that looks like a hospital room with a bunch of beds, with other parents waiting for their kids. I swear it's like an assembly line - the kids come out of the procedure just moments apart. My DD cried as she came out of the anesthesia, but it wasn't like a wailing cry, it was more like a whimpering "what is going on" cry.

I think she was back to normal the next day? Or maybe even the same day? It was such a painless (well, emotionally painless) thing I hardly even remember. I think you put drops in for a week or two after.

ZERO ear infections since, and she's almost 2.5 yrs. old now.

bh2720 · June 2011

Warner had ear tube surgery when he was about 10 months old and we have never regretted it. He had constant ear infections all fall and winter that year...literally we didn't go for more than 2 weeks without being back at the doctor's office--poor little guy :-(

I was super nervous about the surgery, too. We had it first thing in the morning at INOVA Fairfax and everyone there was SO incredibly nice. He was only out of my arms for about 30 minutes total and I believe that he was only under for around 10-15 min.

He a little disoriented when he came to and he started crying. But we gave him a bottle right away and he settled down pretty fast. He was definitely kind of cranky that morning after we got home, but certainly not any worse than he had been when his ear infections were bad. Then he took a really long nap and woke up like a new person. DH and I just couldn't get over how great he did and how quick his recovery was. He played and laughed and was happy all afternoon.

2vthokies · June 2011

DD1 has had tubes surgery twice. The second time she had her adenoids removed too. The first surgery was a couple weeks before she turned 1. The surgery was fast and we were in recovery for about half an hour. She WAILED for half an hour, but then she was fine and it was almost like it never happened. The second surgery was in Jan 2011. It was a longer surgery and we were in recovery for an hour, but no real crying, just grogginess and clinginess. At home she was cranky and clingy, but the next morning she demanded to go back to DC so we let her. I think the second time she didn't recover as fast because of the adenoid removal. Overall, the whole thing is really easy and they bounce back very quickly. Good luck!

hokies94 · June 2011

We've been through tubes 3 times with Otolaryngology Assoc. Twice with my oldest DD and once with DS. The surgery is super quick-literally like 5 minutes! I'll give your our experience with DS since it was the most recent, but all of our surgeries for tubes have been super easy.

Otolaryngology Assoc does their surgeries in a surgical center in Fairfax. You wait with DC in a little waiting room, or play area if they're fidgety until it's time for your surgery. One parent carries DC into the operating room and puts them on the table. They're then given anesthesia and you're allowed to stay until they are under (usually only a few seconds). You go back to the waiting room and then the Dr comes out after the surgery. In our cases it was about 5 minutes from the time I got back to the waiting room until the Dr came to talk to me. After that DC is taken to the recovery room and you get to go back a few minutes later.

DS was awake when I got back into the recovery room about 5-10 minutes after surgery. He was not crying but was kind of groggy. He had some juice a little while later and then about an hour after that we were able to leave. He ate a bagel in the car on the way home and was back to his normal self a few hours later after his nap. DD#1 was back to herself in hours after her first set-she even played in her tball game that night.

My kids seem to react to anesthesia well. We've never had any adverse reactions. I've been in the recovery room quite a bit and have seen the whole range of reactions from totally content to writhing around on the floor totally inconsolable. I've only seen this once and I felt really bad for the mom whose child was inconsolable. Most times kids come out just fine.

Good luck with the surgery.

SoonToBeMrsDTS · June 2011

DS got tubes in a year and half ago. He had a hard time coming out of the anethesia, he just couldn't get calm afterwards. I would say it was 20-30 minutes of him crying hysterically. That was the the only hard part of the whole procedure. After that he was completely fine. We got home and he was back to his normal, crazy self. His tubes fell out in February and he's had 2 ear infections since then so I'm worried we may be going in a for a second set soon

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