About Ventilation Tubes and Power-Assisted Adenoidectomy
Ear Infections
To help keep your child’s middle ear free of fluid build-up and infection, a doctor may need to insert ventilation tubes in the ears or remove the adenoids (power-assisted adenoidectomy).
Ear ventilation tubes (vent tubes) or a power-assisted adenoidectomy help prevent fluid build up and infection in the ear. Which method is used depends on your child’s condition and what’s causing the ear infections.
What Are They?
Your paediatrician may recommend vent tubes for your child if your child has had an ear infection and there’s still fluid in the ear after initial treatment, or if your child has had several ear infections during a year.
If your child’s adenoids are enlarged and causing ear infections, your doctor may suggest removing the adenoids with a power-assisted adenoidectomy procedure.
Benefits and Risks
Vent tubes or a power-assisted adenoidectomy should help reduce the number of ear infections your child gets.
Questions and Answers
Placing vent tubes in the ears is a simple and common procedure. Power-assisted adenoidectomy is a more recent method for removing adenoids. If you don’t find the answers to your questions here, be sure to ask your health care professional.
Information on this site should not be used as a substitute for talking with your doctor. Always talk with your doctor about diagnosis and treatment information.