What Do Pediatric Anesthesiologists Do?
Our Anesthesiology team plays an important role in your child’s care. They give medications that help your child stay comfortable during surgery.
Their care includes:
- Preparing your child and answering your questions before surgery
- Managing anesthesia during the procedure
- Supporting recovery and controlling pain after surgery
At Scottish Rite, we tailor our approach to your child’s age, medical needs and comfort level.
What to Expect with Anesthesiology Services
Your Anesthesiology team will help you and your child understand what to expect.
You will usually meet your anesthesiologist on the day of surgery. If your child has more complex needs, you may meet with them earlier in a clinic visit or by phone.
They will take time to explain the plan, answer questions and address any concerns. They will review:
- What will happen during anesthesia
- What your child may experience
- How pain will be managed
- Possible risks and side effects
What Are the Risks of Anesthesia?
Anesthesia is very safe for children, especially when provided by pediatric specialists like ours. Like most medical treatments, there are some risks, but serious complications are incredibly rare.
The most common side effects of anesthesia for children include:
- Nausea or vomiting
- Sore throat
- Temporary confusion or agitation when waking up
- Bruising and irritation at the IV site
Keeping Your Child Safe
Your child’s safety is our top priority. Our team specializes in caring for children of all ages.
We take extra steps to reduce risks associated with anesthesia, including:
- Carefully reviewing your child’s health before surgery
- Using preventive medications to reduce side effects, like nausea
- Using advanced tools like ultrasound to improve IV placement
- Monitoring your child closely during and after anesthesia
- Working closely with your child’s full care team
- Using child-specific dosing and monitoring techniques
Coordinated Care
Our pediatric anesthesiologists and pediatric orthopedic surgeons work together to create a coordinated, personalized anesthesia plan for your child.
While most surgeries follow established anesthesia protocols, they will tailor your child’s plan to their specific needs. This could include adjusting the types of medications used and positioning during surgery.
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Yes. Most procedures use general anesthesia, so your child will be fully asleep and won’t feel any pain during surgery.
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Almost all our pediatric procedures use general anesthesia, which means your child is fully asleep during surgery.
Often, our pediatric anesthesiologists use regional anesthesia to help manage your child’s pain after surgery.
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Serious reactions to anesthesia are very rare. Even if your child has had a hard time tolerating anesthesia in the past, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will have the same experience.
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Nausea is less common in children than in adults. We also use anti-nausea medications to help prevent this in children.