Treatment Options: Other Surgery

Cold Steel

Myringotomy surgery with a scalpel requires that the patient be asleep. The physician cuts a hole in the eardrum by use of a scalpel, once the hole is cut a ventilation tube is placed allowing fluid to drain. Once the infection has cleared, the tube is removed. Although it isn’t always necessary to place tubes in the hole that is opened, it is often the case because cold steel incisions close quickly (1-2 days), which doesn’t offer enough time for the infection to heal. The procedure requires young patients to undergo general anesthesia while the procedure is taking place. Generally there is minimal post-operative bleeding.

Learn how Myringotomy surgery performed with a CO₂ laser offers benefits over cold steel.