On the day of surgery
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On this page
- At the hospital
- In the operating theatre
- Accompanying your child into the operating theatre
- Going off to sleep
- After your child's operation
At the hospital
There is a Playroom in the waiting area, but we encourage you to bring anything that may make your child more comfortable, such as toys, a blanket, or an electronic device from home.
Your anaesthetist will meet you and your child before their operation. They will review all your child’s information, discuss any pain relief options, and talk about the risks and benefits of these. They will decide with you which option would be best for your child
Your child will be asked to change in to theatre clothes where required (often they can stay in their own pyjamas) and they may be given a 'Pre-med' before coming to the operating theatre. This is some medicine to relax them, if they are anxious. There are various options which your anaesthetist will discuss with you, but they are usually given via mouth or nose. If they are distracted by an electronic device or movie, they can watch this up until they are anaesthetised.
In the operating theatre
You will be met by your child's theatre team, who will do a final check of everything, and ask you to confirm their details. There are between seven to ten members in a theatre team including nurses, surgeons, anaesthetists and technicians. They are all there to look after your child.
Accompanying your child into the operating theatre
If your child is older than nine months, one family member may be allowed to come to theatre with them until they are asleep. Children benefit most from a calm support person. If you are very anxious about doing this, a nurse can accompany them to theatre on your behalf - you don't have to go. When they are waking up in recovery, one family member will be called to be with them.
If your child is younger than nine months, they have not yet developed 'separation anxiety' and there is no benefit of having a parent with them at the going off to sleep stage. They go to sleep rapidly at this age, and we prefer to have 100% of our attention on them.
Going off to sleep
There are two ways of going off to sleep:
- IV induction - this involves placing numbing cream on the skin over a vein, 45 minutes or more before theatre. We then place an IV in the vein and go off to sleep with some anaesthetic through the vein. This occurs rapidly. Your child will become quite heavy in your arms, and then we will assist you to transfer them to the bed.
- Gas induction - this involves holding a face mask over your child's face; we usually introduce some 'laughing gas' to start with, and then introduce the anaesthetic gas gradually. It smells a little like felt tip pens. The anaesthetic gas makes their brain a bit excited before it becomes sleepy, so it is normal for your child to wriggle, have unusual head/eye movements, and have noisy breathing during this phase. Shortly after this they will become still. It looks a little alarming if you are not expecting it, but it is quite normal. Don't worry if you have a tear rolling down your face at this point.
Your child will have an IV placed while they are asleep for pain relief, and anything else that is required. While they are anaesthetised, they will be connected to several monitors which watch their heart, blood pressure, oxygen levels and breathing, throughout the operation. The anaesthetist stays with them for the whole operation, checking they are asleep, comfortable and safe.
After your child’s operation
The surgeon will often phone you once the surgery has finished, to explain how things went. Sometimes they catch up with you later on instead. The recovery nurses will phone you once your child is starting to wake up. It is a good idea to ensure you have enough battery on your mobile phone
Your child will wake up in the recovery room, with a nurse monitoring them. The IV drip will be wrapped by a bandage in younger children. Pre-schoolers commonly get a phenomenon called 'emergence delirium' when waking up from an anaesthetic, which involves confusion and disorientation - they can even be inconsolable for 10-20 minutes. It passes with time; a familiar voice and a cuddle are usually all that is required. Occasionally medicines will be given in theatre or recovery to calm the child down.