Major Ear Surgery Instructions

General Information

• Go home and rest the remainder of the day. You may be sleepy throughout the day.
• You will need someone to be with you the first 24 hours following surgery.
• If sneezing, open your mouth so pressure is not forced into the ears. No nose blowing.
• No driving while on pain medications.
• No legal decisions the first 24 hours after surgery.

Dietary Instructions

• A regular diet as tolerated may be resumed following surgery. If nausea and vomiting occur, limit diet initially and advance as tolerated.

Medications

• Aspirin should be avoided until the follow up appointment unless otherwise instructed.
• Medications prescribed at the time of surgery should be taken as instructed. 

Recovery Time and Activity

• You may return to work, school, or daycare when feeling better and when not on prescription pain medication.
• You may resume activity as tolerated. Decrease activity if increased bleeding or discomfort. 

Incision Care

• If you have a dressing wrapped around your head, remove it the day after surgery.
• Keep the inner cotton ball in the ear canal until the follow up appointment. If an outer cotton ball is present in the bowl of the ear this may be changed as needed if there is ear drainage.
• Keep area clean and dry. Do not get water into the ear.

Pain Management

• The goal of pain management after surgery is to make the patient comfortable during the recovery period. The complete absence of pain will often not be obtained.
• For many patients (and especially young patients) pain control can be obtained with acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Another option is to alternate between acetaminophen and ibuprofen as directed by your surgeon. If you are allergic to these medications, discuss this with your surgeon.
• Some opioid pain medications such as hydrocodone (Norco) or oxycodone (Percocet) already include acetaminophen. These pain medications cannot be taken in addition to acetaminophen. Ibuprofen can be taken between doses of pain medications with the same strategy as alternating acetaminophen and ibuprofen with the narcotic pain medication in place of the acetaminophen dose.
• Use opioid pain medication only as needed for severe pain such as in the beginning of the day. Begin taking non-opioid options, acetaminophen, or ibuprofen as soon as possible and alternate with opioid pain medications during the day as needed. 
• It is strongly advised against using opioid pain medications within 2 hours before sleep. Do not wake the patient up in the middle of the night and give an opioid pain medication. If the patient wakes up and asks for pain medicine due to significant pain, it is safe to give the opioid pain medication. If the decision is to wake a patient up and give medication in the middle of the night to stay on top of the pain, only use acetaminophen or ibuprofen. 

Call your surgeon if…..

• Rash or suspected allergic reactions develops and stop the medication until further instruction has been given.
• Signs of infection are: fever, redness, swelling, warmth, and increased pain around the incision site. 
• You have persistent or profuse bleeding; you may be directed to the emergency room or the surgeon’s office for evaluation. 
• Your temperature remains above 101.5 following the use of pain medication that includes acetaminophen.
• Vomiting is occurring frequently or has persisted following the use of prescribed anti-nausea medication.
• Experiencing excessive dizziness.