Grommet insertion
Post operative advice
General advice
• After a general anaesthetic you may feel groggy for up to 24 hours. This can be associated with nausea and vomiting from the medication and fasting so a return to oral fluids can help and there is anti-nausea medication that you can access
• Scant ear discharge is expected in the first few days post your/your child’s operation.
Medications
• Simple pain relief is generally all that is required following this procedure for a few days
o Paracetamol or anti-inflammatory medication i.e. Nurofen - use these as needed.
• Dr Grigg doesn’t routinely prescribe ear drops post grommet insertion. Some patients may require them; a script will be provided on discharge
Activities
• Typically it will take 1-2 days to fully recover from the general anaesthetic
• It is safe for your child to return to school/daycare 48 hours post procedure. If they have had another operation at the same time they may need a longer recovery.
Water precautions
• Dr Grigg advises to keep the ears dry (i.e. wear ear plugs around water) strictly for the first two weeks
• Every child/patient is different and it is unclear which patients will have water based infections. Swimming is an important skill for children to learn, particularly in Queensland, so we want to support you and your child in this endeavour
• After the first two weeks, Dr Grigg suggests letting the ears get “splash wet” in either the pool or ocean i.e. normal swimming. Deep diving should be avoided. Some children will tolerate this without ear discharge or infection.
o Should your child/yourself go on to develop ear discharge/infections following water exposure then ear plugs/protection should be employed
o Soapy bath water is often quite slippery so avoiding head immersion is recommended
• Ear plug options
o Cotton wool covered with Vaseline and sitting in the ‘bowl’ of the ear
o ‘Blutac’
o Commercial earplugs available from your local pharmacy
• These can all be combined with swimming caps and grommet headbands available online and in stores
When to seek medical attention
• A fever of >38 degrees.
• Worsening discharge from the ears, or new onset of discharge if there was initially none occurring.
• Excessive sedation from pain relief tablets.
• Severe pain, nausea with vomiting, or severe dizziness, especially if it persists for more than a day.
Follow up
Dr Grigg will make an appointment to see you about one month after your operation. A hearing test will usually be done the same day, or a few days earlier. The staff at Darling Downs ENT will give you these appointments before you are discharged from hospital or at the time of booking. If you have your hearing test done in the community, please bring a copy of this with you to your appointment.
Queries?
If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact the rooms on (07) 4632 3179 during business hours or if it is an emergency then attend your nearest emergency department.