Pediatric anesthesia FAQs

General anesthesia is a combination of medications that provide loss of consciousness, prevent memory formation, and eliminate pain. This allows a patient to have surgery without any memory of the event and to be completely pain free during the procedure.

Types of anesthesia:

• General anesthesia

• Epidural/spinal

• Local anesthesia

• Monitored anesthesia care

• Regional

Choosing the type of anesthesia is a shared process with the anesthesiologist taking into consideration, the parents’ and the patient’s wishes. Ultimately, the anesthesiologist will choose the safest, most comfortable and best option for your child.

Learn more here: What to Know About Anesthesia (English | Spanish) (pdf)

A pre-operative visit/assessment with a nurse practitioner and/or anesthesiologist can occur days or even a week before the scheduled surgery. If your child is very healthy, this visit may be on the day of the surgery.

During this visit, we will obtain a medical history, perform a physical exam and will determine if any further testing is needed such as:

• Laboratory blood draws

• ECG

• Echocardiogram

• Chest x-ray

• CAT scan

• MRI

Your questions can be answered at this time. This will prevent delays in caring for your child on the day of the surgery.

Before anesthesia, there are certain protocols that allow for safe care of your child, including the timing of food/drinks, medications and also preparation of your child to tolerate the experience of undergoing surgery. We have a guideline which includes the latest time that is okay to eat/drink before surgery to allow for the stomach to be empty. This significantly reduces the risk of having aspiration, which happens when food comes up from the stomach and into the lungs.

Before surgery:

• NO solid food after midnight on your scheduled surgery day, including gum or candy

• NO milk, juice or formula after midnight before the scheduled surgery day

• NO clear liquids four hours before scheduled surgery time – clear liquids include water, Pedialyte®, Gatorade®, apple juice, Jell-O® (without fruit), Kool-Aid® and tea

• NO breast milk after 3:30 a.m. on the day of surgery
  

Preparing Your Child for Surgery (English (pdf) | Spanish) (pdf)

We recommend for your child to get certain types of medications on the day of surgery with a small sip of water, (preferably at least 2 hours prior to the time of their surgery).

• It’s important to continue respiratory medications, such as albuterol on the morning of the surgery. This reduces the risk of an asthma attack during anesthesia.

• Anti-reflux medications such as Prevacid, or Pepcid can also be taken prior to surgery.

• Your child can take their anti- hypertensive medication the night before surgery, but ask your anesthesiologist about taking it on the morning of the procedure, as each situation is different.

• If your child is on specialized medication, it’s important to speak to your anesthesiologist to find out if you should take it the morning of surgery.

• Your child will have received silly juice in the pre-operative area that will help them relax and tolerate separation from you.

• Once in the operating room, our experienced nurses and OR staff, as well as the anesthesiologist, will work very hard to keep your child calm with use of games and distraction techniques.

• Using a mask with anesthesia air, your child will fall asleep and then receive an intravenous line (IV) after they are asleep. For older children, and if it is safer for smaller children, an IV may be started in the preoperative area.

• Once your child is asleep and being monitored closely by your anesthesiologist, surgery starts. Appropriate medications will be administered to make sure your child remains asleep for the duration of the procedure and comfortable when they awaken. The amount of medications is based on your child's weight and other factors which your anesthesiologist will take into consideration to keep your child safely pain-free and asleep.

Our operating rooms are sterile rooms and for your child’s safety, we don’t have parents stay during the surgery. On occasion, we may ask you to accompany your child into the operating room until they fall asleep and then escort you back to the waiting area. We will provide you with a uniform to put on in that situation.

A consent form is a document that lists the type of anesthesia that your child is expected to receive and the potential complications associated with it. The complication list is comprehensive, but it does not mean that the risk of those complications happening is very high. Your anesthesiologist will go over those with you and allow you time to ask questions about them.

A breathing tube is a tube that is placed after your child is asleep that passes through the mouth and into the trachea. We have ultramodern equipment that uses the latest technology, including video laryngoscopes, fiberoptic scopes and laryngeal mask airways (including the Supreme), to secure your child’s airway and prevent damage to the lungs from aspiration.