Ear Tube Surgery

We arrived at Bronson at 6:00 this morning to get ready for Matthew's surgery. We went back to a room around 6:30 to talk to the nurse about his medical history, sign consent forms, have his vitals taken and change him into his miniature hospital gown, complete with ties in the back just like the grown-up kind. The anesthesiologist came in around 7:00 and we saw Dr. Shapiro around 7:15. We were a little nervous because Matthew woke up with a stuffy nose and some congestion. The doctor had to make sure he was okay to have the procedure done. If his lungs or nasal passages weren't clear to their liking, he would have to be rescheduled. Luckily they said he was good to go!

Since Matthew doesn't have any separation issues, he didn't have to have the pre-op drugs. If he were to have that, he would drink a sweet liquid that would make him very silly, giggly and almost in a drunken state so he wouldn't care who had him or where he was going. Instead Kathy Alban and the doctors took him back at 7:30. Once he was in the operating room, he was given oxygen and hooked up to a monitor. Then he was given some gas through his oxygen mask to put him to sleep. No needles and no I.V.s! The procedure was done by 7:50 and we were off to recovery where we met Matthew. He was very confused coming out of the medicine and he cried, well screamed, for about 20 minutes. He had not clue who we were and was very upset. I bet he was in pain too.

The nurse gave him a dose of Tylenol and he drank a few ounces from his bottle. He fell asleep shortly after and slept very hard for about an hour in my arms. Once he woke up he was our Matthew again. He was smiling and hugging us and he knew us. We were on our way home by 9:15. All in all it was a very short procedure and morning. Once we got home Matthew had some yogurt and a short nap. He played some and then had lunch. He is sleeping again now and probably will for most of the day today. We have ear drops that he gets three times a day for three days. The drops are an antibiotic and they help to flush out the ear canal and help to prevent infection. We have to go back to Dr. Shapiro's office in two weeks for a follow up appointment. We will keep our fingers crossed that this will help Matthew out.