Ear Tube (Ventilation Tube) Insertion

If fluid stays in the ear after medical treatment, the doctor can recommend surgery to remove it. That operation is the insertion of a ventilation tube. It is often done together with the removal of the adenoid, because the adenoid is what causes the fluid to collect.

How the operation is done

Your child is put to sleep under general anaesthesia. The operation takes place in an operating theatre and an anaesthetist watches your child throughout. Your child sleeps for about 15 to 30 minutes.

The surgeon works through the ear canal and reaches the eardrum. No cut is made in the skin. The surgeon makes a hole about 2 mm wide in the eardrum and drains the fluid out of the middle ear. A small tube, 1 to 2 mm wide, goes into that hole. It looks like a tiny cotton reel and it carries air into the middle ear through the hole in its centre.

What the tube does

The tube lets air reach the middle ear, and this usually stops middle ear infections coming back.

It also means that water can now pass from the ear canal into the middle ear. Bacteria and viruses in the water can cause an infection there. For that reason you must block your child’s ear canal for anything involving water: swimming, bathing, showering and the rest.

How long it stays

The tube stays in the eardrum for 6 to 12 months. It then falls out by itself into the ear canal, and the hole in the eardrum closes on its own. The tube does not come out of the ear canal, so you cannot see whether it has fallen out. The doctor checks it at intervals.

If the tube does not fall out by itself, the doctor tells you when it should be removed. That is usually after one to two years.

A tube helps only while it is in the eardrum. If the infection comes back after it falls out, a new tube may be needed.