Dr. Nalbone

On Tuesday C underwent a double myringotomy (ear tubes) to hopefully remedy his incessant ear infections.  His doctor, Dr. Nalbone, was pretty great, with the exception of one time when I asked a question about possible negative outcomes we should be concerned about and he responded "well, how much do you worry about an accident when you get in a car?"  Annoying.  Just answer my question, please.  Otherwise, he was great.  Anyway, C had to fast from food AND liquid for 8 hours prior to the surgery.  We went in at 6 am and the surgery was scheduled for 7.  Dr. Nalbone checked in with us around 6:50 and everyone kept asking if the anesthesiologist had stopped in yet, which she had not.  As time passed my gentle, calm little boy became increasingly annoyed that we wouldn't give him a drink.  At last a different anesthesiologist was put on his surgery, and he went in at 7:20.  We barely had time to grab some coffee and sit down before Dr. Nalbone came out and said it went well, and if we had any doubts about having had the surgery, both of C's ears (which were totally clear a week prior) were full of fluid.  About 5 minutes later we were allowed to go to C, who was angry and thrashing and thirsty.  After 7 ounces of milk he finally opened his eyes, but he cried and thrashed and drank off and on for 30 minutes or so before calming down.  Sounds like that's fairly common when coming out of anesthesia.   Another 15 minutes, and we were on our way home.  C took a 2 1/2 hour nap and woke up feeling right as rain.  He was cheerful and playful the rest of the day and had only minor drainage from his ears.  He went back to daycare the next morning and is going to Dr. Nalbone for a follow-up later today.  It remains to be seen how well this will work, but BB insists that C is already more talkative.  Maybe.

**UPDATE** 09/29/11
It's been a few months and we couldn't be happier with the outcome of C's surgery.  He's had NO trouble with his ears, recovery time was almost nonexistant, and the tubes have performed just as Dr. Nalbone anticipated.  Plus, C sleeps well now.  I wouldn't say his lexicon has grown as much as I'd hoped, but he's making progress.  We recently went in for a follow-up with Dr. Nalbone, which took only a few minutes and went well. 

I understand why some people think myringotomy is unnecessary, but in our case it really has made a big difference.  Overall, Dr. Nalbone was great.  Aside from the one comment I mentioned above and that his exam rooms are not the best for little kids that like opening and touching everything, he couldn't have been much better.