[Nathans_Dad]

My daughter had tympanostomy tubes placed when she was about 12 months old. She had had about 5 ear infections in the previous 6 months, basically she never got off of antibiotics. We brought her in, they took her back to the OR, sedated her and used a bit of anesthesia (not enough to require intubation usually) and did the procedure. She was back in our arms in about 20 minutes.

Since the tubes she has had 2 ear infections that I can recall in about 15 months. I would do it again if my kid needed it, it really made a difference.

The risk involved is really just the anesthesia. You are correct in that most places will sedate the child just enough to do the procedure safely (which means making them go to sleep but not so much that they require a breathing tube). Once they are asleep the ENT can put the tubes in in a matter of minutes. Afterwards the kid is sleepy for about an hour or two and then you go home.

BTW, it's amazing how different it is when the patient is your child. I go into the post-anesthesia area all the time to see folks coming out of the OR and/or going into the OR and I was a friggin shaking leaf when I brought my little peanut in.