If needed, we can help your child relax before surgery with medication that is taken by mouth just before entering the operating room. Please bring your child's special toy or blanket. Having this special thing from home will help bring comfort before and after anesthesia. There are a few different ways for children to go off to sleep with anesthesia. One way is to breathe from a clear space mask hooked to a blue balloon.
Sleep comes rapidly to the child.
We try to avoid needle sticks while the child is awake. Some children will still prefer a needle stick to a mask. This may be true for children who are 8 years old and older or children old enough to know they did not like a mask experience from a previous surgery. Talk to the anesthesiologist about these different options. Most children need general anesthesia because, at this age, they are unable to cooperate.