A client with mastoiditis is admitted to your unit prior to undergoing a radical mastoidectomy. What do you know is a nursing priority postoperatively?
A) Assessing for mouth droop and decreased lateral eye gaze
B) Assessing for increased middle ear pressure and perforated ear drum
C) Assessing for gradual onset of conductive hearing loss and nystagmus
D) Assessing for scar tissue and cerumen obstructing the auditory canal
Ans: A
Feedback: The facial nerve runs through the middle ear and the mastoid; therefore, there is risk of injuring this nerve during a mastoidectomy. When injury occurs, the client may display mouth droop and decreased lateral gaze on the operative side. Tympanoplasty is surgical reconstruction of the ear drum. It is used to treat a perforated ear drum rather than cause it. Hearing is restored by the tympanoplasty. Scar tissue is a long-term complication of tympanoplasty and therefore would not be evident during the immediate postoperative period.
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