Anesthesia and Pain Management

There is three different types of Anesthesia:

• Local anesthesia in which only the place of procedure is anesthetized.
• General Anesthesia in which the whole body is anesthetized.
• Regional anesthesia in which only part of the body is anesthetized

If your child has an illness, injury, or disease that requires surgery or a procedure, a Pediatric Anesthesiologist has the experience and qualifications to assist in the treatment and to help ensure that your child undergoes that treatment safely.

A pediatric anesthesiologist is a fully trained anesthesiologist who has completed at least 1 year of specialized training in anesthesia care of infants and children.

Always follow doctor’s instructions about avoiding food and drink before surgery. Fasting is usually necessary starting about six hours before surgery. Your child may be able to drink clear fluids until 2 hours before anesthesia.

Your child must be fast:

• 2 hours for water and liquids such as apple juice (1/4 cup).
• 4 hours for breast feeding.
• 6 hours for solid food.

In a normal state, your body has defenses to prevent stomach content from coming up. Unfortunately when you are unconscious this mechanism does not work, so it’s best that your stomach is empty when you have a general anesthetic. In emergency surgery when you may have eaten recently, your anesthesiologist will take special precautions to reduce the risk of aspiration

Any operation can hurt, but the anesthesiologist will provide pain relief for the expected duration of severe pain. Should that be insufficient, then one only needs to ask for further therapy

When you are being intubated, the teeth are very close and there is always a possibility of a tooth being chipped or damaged, particularly if a tooth is capped or loose. By giving any details of loose or capped teeth, the anesthesiologist can make extra sure to prevent damaged teeth. Sometimes, if a tooth is really loose, it is wise just to take it out before your surgery.

Some surgeries or diseases may put your child at a higher risk for anesthesia complications. Before surgery, you will have a chance to discuss your concerns with your child’s anesthesia team.

Minor risks of anesthesia can be common. They include:

• Feeling sick or vomiting after surgery
• Having a sore throat, trouble swallowing, or sore teeth or lips if a breathing tube was used
• Feeling pain or having bruises in the arm where the IV was placed
• Bruising or redness on the skin or some numbness. This can happen from the pressure of lying down during surgery. This usually does not last after the hospital stay.
• Having a backache or headache after spinal or epidural anesthesia

Every effort is made to minimize child separation from parent. After your child is in the recovery room, and their condition is stable only one parent may join because of space limitation.

Surgery is rarely cancelled unless there is a medical reason. If your child is not in their usual state of health or has not followed the preparation guidelines given to you, surgery may be delayed.

Sometimes unscheduled emergency surgery is necessary for another child. In this circumstances, elective surgery will sometimes be delayed or less commonly, need to be rescheduled to another day. We recognize the inconvenience this can cause you and your child and we make every effort to minimize delays