When August Sigler, 22 months, had 4 ear infections in less than 6 months, his pediatrician referred him to Akron Children’s Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Center. After meeting with Dr. Terry Good, pediatric otolaryngologist, August was scheduled for one of the most common pediatric surgeries, ear tube insertion and adenoid removal. In most cases, ear tubes are performed for chronic ear infections and/or persistent fluid in the middle ears, and adenoids removed often for chronic nasal congestion, snoring and to lessen the chances of tubes having to be replaced in the future.
Follow along with August through his surgery day…
A sleepy August and family arrive at the GOJO Outpatient Surgery Center bright and early for surgery day.
August’s pre-op nurse Elaine Christopher goes over consent forms with August’s parents, Derek and Nicolle.
Elaine takes August’s vitals and finishes checking him in for surgery.
August is given a choice between bubble gum, strawberry and blue raspberry scent for his surgery mask. His choice? Blue raspberry!
August gets a visit from Abby Fajack, Child Life Specialist. Abby shows August what is about to happen as he goes into surgery in a way he can understand at his age.
August gets a kick out of practicing putting the mask on his stuffed animal. Abby then shows August how his stuffed animal would fall asleep after breathing into the mask, just like he would be doing soon in the operating room.
When people hear about ear tubes, most don’t realize how tiny they actually are. That small object does a mighty big job of clearing out all that fluid from the ear!
Dr. Gregory Benson, pediatric anesthesiologist and medical director of outpatient surgery, stops by to explain how anesthesia will be done for this procedure. Best news from Dr. Benson? No needle pokes or prodding until after August is asleep.
In between visitors, August gets downtime to relax. In addition to items brought from home, Akron Children’s provides movies for kids to enjoy as they wait to be taken back to surgery.
Almost time! Dr. Good swings by to say hi to mom and dad, go over surgery details one more time and then heads to surgery.
Dr. Good took one look at August and said, “This is a truck guy!” Someone then pushes in a big red truck that August rides to the operating room. Pretty snazzy ride! Dr. Good makes sure to keep the trip exciting, zooming past the nurses station before making their way to the destination.
Within a couple minutes of entering the operating room, August is asleep and ready for ear tubes in, adenoids out.
Dr. Good cleans out the ear canal before inserting the tubes.
Once Dr. Good is done with August’s ears, he will then move to the adenoids. This is done by going through the mouth and lifting back the palate to reach the adenoids, which sit high up in the throat behind the nose.
In less than 20 minutes since he entered the operating room, August is on his way to recovery. The procedure is known for being quick. It helps when you have a well-oiled machine like Dr. Good who has performed over 45,000 total Pediatric ENT Procedures, many of which have been placement of ear tubes, wow!
Parents Derek and Nicolle are all smiles after getting word that the surgery was a success. Dr. Good reviews aftercare for August including ear drops for the next several days and a soft-food diet.
Derek and Nicolle are quickly taken back to comfort August as he wakes up from the anesthesia.
While August continues to snooze, his post-op nurse Sarah Fetters reviews pain management with Derek and Nicolle. Patients typically rotate between acetaminophen and ibuprofen for the next 24-48 hours. To keep track of what medicine is due when, Sarah shows them the comfort clock, created by Akron Children’s own Dr. Jeff Berlin.
What is August’s favorite time of day? Snack time! The toddler enjoys some applesauce as his nurse reviews his discharge papers.
Less than 3 hours since their arrival, the Sigler family is headed home!
Within a few hours of getting home, August is back to his normal self. Talk about a quick recovery!
Have more questions about ear tube surgery? Visit our ear tube FAQ page.
