In 1993 I had a total left parotidectomy.....benign mixted tumor removed. My surgeon recommended radiation because two other docs (not associated with the same medical facility where my surgeonw as) had gone into the area before (they had no idea it wasn t a cyst!) and he was concerned that any stray cells might endup having another tumor grow again somewhre in that area. So, I had the radiation. All went ok till the early 2000 s when I began to have vertigo probs and then within the last couple years ear infections. This last infection, mrsa , is a real nuisance! The fluid that drains off and on, the loss of some hearing , the pounding of pulse in ear, and feeling of fullness, are all very annoying. They saw the fluid filled middle area and it looks like it extends to mastoid. My new surgeon put a tube in there the other day, hoping this might help.....he is not one to jump into surgery. However, I had no idea how long we will wait to find out if this is working...ear feels no different basically. I would imagine that a mastoidectomy may need to happen within a couple months or less. How effective are the tubes?