With the help of nurses Sarah and Melanie, Jordan feels right at home in the OR.
We followed 20-month-old Jordan Pollock on Feb. 13 during his surgery to insert ear tubes and remove his adenoid.
Jordan and his parents are no strangers to Akron Children’s. He’s been a patient since before he was born when he was diagnosed with spina bifida during a fetal ultrasound.
This was the third surgery Jordan has had in his short life. He underwent this surgery after several ear infections and influenza A led to a febrile seizure. During his appointment at Akron Children’s Ear Nose & Throat Center, his parents learned that he also had an enlarged adenoid.
Even though this wasn’t as major as his first two surgeries for spina bifida, it was still a big deal for his parents, Megan and Randy.
“I was feeling a little bit of everything,” said Megan, who blogs about her family’s journey. “I was nervous, anxious, excited. As minor as it was, he’s still going under anesthesia. But when you weigh all of that with the terror of Jordan’s seizures, it was a no brainer.”
Get an inside view of the most common childhood surgery by following the live updates below. You can also get answers to the most-asked questions about ear tube surgery.
9:30 a.m. First stop – admitting and registration. Jordan spots the stickers at the registration desk. He left with 5 of them.
9:32 a.m. Registration specialist puts ID bracelet on Jordan.
9:40 a.m. Nurse Lynda Stuber, surgery information specialist, takes Jordan and his parents to an exam room for pre-surgery assessment.
9:43 a.m. Randy and Megan have to undress Jordan for his surgery.
9:57 a.m. Dr. Anton Milo reviews his surgery schedule and notes for the day.
10:06 a.m. Pre-surgery nurse Betty Dunton explains how the day will unfold before she takes Jordan’s vitals.
10:17 a.m. Betty takes Jordan’s temperature before surgery to make sure he’s healthy enough for the procedure.
10:29 a.m. Dr. Milo stops by Jordan’s exam room to talk to his parents before surgery.
10:30 a.m. The Pollocks ask Dr. Milo to pray with them before surgery.
10:34 a.m. Ain’t nothin’ to this! Jordan is ready to roll.
10:38 a.m. Randy ties on a surgical hat while child life specialist Megan Flaker holds Jordan. Child life specialists are important members of the healthcare team who help families cope before, during and after a medical procedure or hospital stay.
10:38 a.m. Megan shows off a surgery hat to Jordan. She is one of several child life specialists who work in surgery. They use hands-on, age-appropriate activities to help decrease the stress of being in an unfamiliar environment.
10:39 a.m. Jordan likes holding his own personal chapstick that will be used to scent the inside of his anesthesia mask. He got to choose the flavor – strawberry.
10:40 a.m. Jordan plays with an anesthesia mask with his dad and child life specialist. These types of activities help familiarize children to the sights and sounds of the OR in a secure setting.
10:40 a.m. Child life play is important to desensitize young patients to the unfamiliar medical surroundings.
10:40 a.m. Pediatric anesthesiologist Ibrahim Farid comes in to meet with the family. Megan and Randy really appreciated how thorough he was in gathering medical history.
10:50 a.m. Nurse practitioner Michelle Wilson talks to the Pollocks before surgery.
9:51 a.m. Megan cuddles with Jordan before surgery.
9:52 a.m. Megan and Jordan are ready for surgery.
10:58 a.m. Jordan’s parents and his Grandma Tammy Linden say bye and watch as OR nurse Sarah carries him back to the OR.
10:58 a.m. Sarah and nurse anesthetist Melanie play with Jordan on their way to the OR.
10:59 a.m. Sarah and Melanie get Jordan settled into the OR.
11:00 a.m. Before the surgery can begin, Dr. Farid administers anesthesia to Jordan.
11:01 a.m. Dr. Milo and OR nurse Marilyn Khoury scrub into the OR.
11:03 a.m. It takes a team to do surgery. Here’s a wide view of OR 3.
11:05 a.m. Dr. Milo said he always starts with the right ear. The average age for ear tube surgery is 1 to 3 years old.
11:06 a.m. Dr. Milo carefully places a tiny, blue tube in Jordan’s eardrum. The tube will allow Jordan’s middle ear to better drain.
11:08 a.m. Dr. Milo uses a telescope to insert the tiny ear tube. Ear tube surgery is the most common childhood surgery, with more than half a million children having ear tube surgery a year.
How big is an ear tube? This one is TWICE the size as the one placed in Jordan.
11:13 a.m. After he finishes inserting tubes, Dr. Milo removes Jordan’s adenoid. In some cases, like Jordan’s, frequent ear infections are associated with enlarged adenoids, which are gland-like structures in the back of the throat near the Eustachian tubes. After an ear tube surgery and adenoidectomy, there’s a 95% chance of not having another ear infection.
11:14 a.m. Dr. Milo uses a special light to assist him in removing Jordan’s adenoid.
11:24 a.m. All done! Dr. Milo and OR staff move Jordan from the OR table to a crib.
11:25 a.m. Dr. Milo and Melanie wheel Jordan into recovery, where he’ll be monitored for a while after surgery.
11:27 a.m. Post anesthesia care unit nurse Holly Bauer holds Jordan in recovery.
11:29 a.m. Dr. Milo lets Megs and Randy know that everything went well.
11:31 a.m. After answering their questions, Dr. Milo takes Megan and Randy back to recovery to see Jordan.
11:51 a.m. Megan and Randy are happy to comfort Jordan in the recovery area.
12:05 p.m. There are 2 stages of recovery. Randy and Megan take Jordan to the second and final phase.
12:08 p.m. Dr. Farid talks to family in recovery. Megan asked him how he kept the tube down Jordan’s throat during the adenoid removal part of the surgery. He explained the device we use, which has a divider to separate the anesthesia tube.
12:09 p.m. Megan is happy to hold Jordan in recovery.
12:11 p.m. PACU nurse Megan Ellis comes in to check on Jordan and talk to his parents. After anesthesia, Jordan got red-faced and had a white nose. The nurse explained that this is a normal reaction.
12:35 p.m. One of the criteria for discharge from recovery is being able to hold down liquids.
1:59 p.m. After they leave recovery, the Pollocks go to the ENT Center so Jordan can be fitted for ear plugs.
2:02 p.m. Jordan will have to wear ear plugs when he’s bathing to keep his ears dry so they can heal.
2:02 p.m. The blue silicone ear plugs will protect Jordan’s ears.
2:04 p.m. Dr. Milo gives Jordan a sticker to reward him for being such a trooper.
2:04 p.m. Dr. Milo signs a t-shirt that the Pollocks brought for the surgery team to sign.
