In office ear tube placement (TULE procedure) has anyone done this?

[Shelydon]

My 15 yo is schedule for the Tule procedure for PE tubes for her ears.  This is the in office procedure to place ear tubes without general anesthesia.   I only know of one person IRL that has had this done and said it was painful despite numbing drops.  I wanted to get input from others.  General anesthesia is not an option, so she either has this or nothing.

[Dmmetler]

My DH has several times, and tolerated it pretty well. Having said that, he also has gotten colonoscopy under local only, because he is super reactive to medication (as in an allergy pill that lets me breathe easier knocks him out for 12+ hours), and does not want to do general anesthesia. So I think he has a very high pain, or at least "I can live through this" tolerance. 

[1234]

I had it done in office when I was only about 8 years old. I think it was new to do it in the office (80s and this was my third time with tubes) and my parents talked me into it because it was so much cheaper than going into the hospital.  It wasn’t fun but not too horrible and I was a huge wimp with stuff like this at the time. Good luck!

Edited January 18, 2022 by Joker2

[Shelydon]

52 minutes ago, Dmmetler said:

My DH has several times, and tolerated it pretty well. Having said that, he also has gotten colonoscopy under local only, because he is super reactive to medication (as in an allergy pill that lets me breathe easier knocks him out for 12+ hours), and does not want to do general anesthesia. So I think he has a very high pain, or at least "I can live through this" tolerance. 

 

51 minutes ago, Joker2 said:

I had it done in office when I was only about 8 years old. I think it was new to do it in the office (80s and this was my third time with tubes) and my parents talked me into it because it was so much cheaper than going into the hospital.  It wasn’t fun but not too horrible and I was a huge wimp with stuff like this at the time. Good luck!

Thank you. I am hoping that this goes well for her.  The in office procedure is $1600, no insurance accepted.  The OR version will be $25000.  We can file with insurance, but will still be $5000-$10000 out of pocket.  But, more than that, she won't do general anesthesia.

Edited January 18, 2022 by Shelydon

[zimom]

The ENTs I worked for did in office tubes on a very regular basis.   As long as the eardrum is numbed well it really is a simple procedure.  Depending on the patient they routinely performed them in office from around 6 years and up.  The only requirement is that the patient WILL hold still.   My own son was 2 when they did one of his in office, much younger than most patients but since he knew the doctor and was very comfortable there they knew him well enough to know he would lay still.  

He was a trooper and we all laughed when he starting saying "YUCK, YUCK!".  He was watching the procedure on the monitor and did not like watching them suck the pus out.  

 

[Shelydon]

On 1/18/2022 at 12:55 PM, zimom said:

The ENTs I worked for did in office tubes on a very regular basis.   As long as the eardrum is numbed well it really is a simple procedure.  Depending on the patient they routinely performed them in office from around 6 years and up.  The only requirement is that the patient WILL hold still.   My own son was 2 when they did one of his in office, much younger than most patients but since he knew the doctor and was very comfortable there they knew him well enough to know he would lay still.  

He was a trooper and we all laughed when he starting saying "YUCK, YUCK!".  He was watching the procedure on the monitor and did not like watching them suck the pus out.  

 

Thank you!