Abstract
Thomas Henry Huxley said, “Science commits suicide when it adopts a creed.” Such profound words come to life when one considers a long-established medical intervention such as tympanostomy tubes, especially when the body of existing evidence is robust. It is tempting in such cases to “adopt a creed” and bask in the misguided security of evidence-based dogma which truly never exists.
Out of this realization, the editors perceived an unmet academic need to assemble this supplement to review, update, and anticipate the future of the most common otologic intervention, tympanostomy tube placement. We are grateful and privileged that an esteemed internationally renowned faculty have contributed erudite chapters detailing the history of this surgical treatment that we take for granted, raising questions and awareness to standard of care practices such as quinolone drops, antibiotic treatment of otitis media, the treatment of the most challenging fungal infections, and recent innovative pharmacologic and procedural innovations. Most of all, we value the glimpse into what the future may hold as we understand the global priority on cost containment and value-based “shared decision-making” always challenged by best practice and practice in the best interest of our patients. The editors have quipped in private conversation that perhaps they have pondered this topic too much over the course of several decades of patient care and scientific discovery. It is our genuine and concerted hope that our readership will learn, adopt, anticipate, and perhaps even be inspired by a past which has helped our patients everyday, a present that dynamically continues to evolve, and a future bright with hope and promising further advancement. We end while reminded of yet another Huxley quote which we hope our readers will heed. “Sit down before fact like a little child, and be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abyss Nature leads or you shall learn nothing.”