Myringotomy is a procedure to make an incision in the ear drum.
It is done, usually for children when there is fluid in the middle ear, behind the drum. This fluid is usually caused by upper respiratory tract obstruction, eg by enlarged tonsils and adenoids.
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If an ear infection causes serious complications, fluid remains in the ear for a long time, or your child has ear infections that keep coming back, your doctor might want to do a procedure called a myringotomy.
Children with recurrent acute episodes of otitis media (usually understood as more than 4-5 infections in 6 months) benefit from myringotomy with insertion of grommets. The most common indication is for children with chronic otitis media of more than 3 months’ duration.
What are Grommets?
After the incision is made in the ear drum and the fluid in the middle ear sucked out, a small ventilating tube, known as a grommet, is left in place to allow air to enter the middle ear and drain further fluid collections. The tubes usually eject spontaneously in a few months. The ENT specialist will generally follow the patient up to ensure that the drum has healed after the tube is ejected.