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Kids Health Info

Grommets tubes

  • Medications

    Administer Sofradex drops to the ears if directed by your doctor.

    Activities

    Your child may bathe as usual after the tubes are placed. Your doctor may recommend earplugs to use when bathing. Your child may go swimming after surgery. Earplugs are not required when your child swims in a pool with chlorinated water. Your child must use earplugs when swimming in a lake, river or pond. When your child is swimming, do not allow your child to dive into water or swim under the surface more than one metre deep.

    What to expect

    It is common for children to have a small amount of clear, pink or yellowish-brown drainage for two or three days after surgery. If your child has an infection, you will notice drainage from your child's ear while the tubes are in place. If this occurs, wash the outside of the ear(s). If the drainage continues for more than five days and your child has a fever and/or pain, call your doctor.

    Follow-up

    A follow-up appointment will be made with the Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic.

    Contact

    Ear, Nose & Throat Office - 9345 5630
    Plastic & Maxillofacial Surgery Office - 9345 5391
    Stephanie Wards, Cleft Co-ordinator - 9345 6582
    Outpatient appointments - 9345 6180
    Plastic Surgery Resident or Registrar - via switchboard on 9345 5522

    Call an ambulance (000) immediately in an emergency.

    Developed by The Royal Children's Hospital Speech Pathology and Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery departments. We acknowledge the input of RCH consumers and carers.

    Reviewed November 2015.

    This information is awaiting routine review. Please always seek the most recent advice from a registered and practising clinician.


Disclaimer

This information is intended to support, not replace, discussion with your doctor or healthcare professionals. The authors of these consumer health information handouts have made a considerable effort to ensure the information is accurate, up to date and easy to understand. The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne accepts no responsibility for any inaccuracies, information perceived as misleading, or the success of any treatment regimen detailed in these handouts. Information contained in the handouts is updated regularly and therefore you should always check you are referring to the most recent version of the handout. The onus is on you, the user, to ensure that you have downloaded the most up-to-date version of a consumer health information handout.