General Anaesthetic / for 4 Year Old

My son needed foot surgery aged 3. He was fine until we went in. We had practiced counting when the mask goes on. I had told him he'd be told to count to ten, but he probably wouldn't get to three. We got to 35 as he held his breath so long! After that it was fine.

Re paed anaesthetists - we all train to anaesthetise kids safely even in 'smaller' hospitals. Some anaesthetists have more of a particular interest in paed anaesthetics, just like some people prefer obstetrics, some people trauma, etc etc. There is a subspec of 'paediatric anaesthesia' in the big tertiary centres where people specialise in doing specialist paediatric surgical procedures (things like congenital cardiac surgery, neonatal surgery, cleft repairs and whatnot) or complex children having more typical procedures - those anaesthetists will have a different skillset and also have the back-up of paed icu etc on site.
Even at your bog standard DGH every anaesthetist will be able to safely look after a child (we have to be able to to cover on-call when you've got no idea what might turn up during a shift). Please don't panic that you're going to have some incompetent amateur having a bash at it just for giggles! Anaesthesia for dental/ENT/general/ophth/ortho surgery are well within the skillset of even the most average of anaesthetists.

Yes mine had multiple GAs under 3. They were always brilliant with him in the hospital. I stayed with him till the last moment and was called up to recovery as soon as he was awake and been checked, so he never really knew I was gone. Minimal after affect.

You do realise that Anaesthetists won't operate outwith their qualifications.

I had my 20 month old go under anaesthetic. Traumatic having her go floppy but she was fine, just upset waking up without me being there, was dopey for a couple of days after.

Yes, and depending on your area only specialist doctors can do it on kids.

I was in A&E in our local hospital who said 'he needs to go to the sick kids for GA we can't do that here'

It took a while to twig what GA meant!

My son had his first general anaesthetic at 5 months, then at 17 months and 29 months. He was fine after all of them. He has felt worse after the ones he has had as an adult. I was always allowed to be with him until he actually went through the theatre doors and was waiting for him when he came back out. That was nearly 40 years ago but I'm sure that won't have changed.

You do realise anaesthetists are fully trained doctors, taking 7 or 8 years to qualify?

My son has, I was very worried but he was absolutely fine. He has had several GAs since and always been fine. Good luck

Am I right in thinking that GA can ONLY be done in a hospital environment?
Assuming you're in Britain, yes, the days of general anaesthesia being given in dental surgeries are thankfully long gone. Your child will be treated in hospital with the same standards of staffing, equipment and monitoring as any other procedure under GA.

Mine used to have a hickman line but now has a picc line which is a good job because he hates the mask.

I’m sorry your little one has had to have so many too.

My 3 year old has had 14 general anaesthetics. They usually have the play staff who are amazing at keeping the kids entertained playing games and watching things on the ipad, blowing bubbles ect to distract as they put the mask on to put them off to sleep. Usually they try to use gas to put them to sleep and then place a cannula once they are asleep. My wee one now has a port so doesn't have the gas to go to sleep as they put the medicine directly through the port instead. You will be allowed to stay with her until she's asleep and they'll let you give her a kiss and cuddle. It can be a bit upsetting seeing them go to sleep as sometimes they jerk a bit and resist it, but it's totally normal and she won't remember a thing.

Mine had 3 between the ages of 2 and 4! Each time he came out of it differently, but was generally fine! They first time he sadly did aspirate when under, he was meant to be in as a day case but they ended up keeping him in overnight and x-raying his chest, however there were no issues and he was home the next day! They times after that he had no complications, hwoever the second tim3 he was really disressed when he came round for a few hours! Third time, no issues at all!
I didn't go with him when he was put under, his dad did - it knew I'd find that bit hard to watch, however his dad said it was ok, he cuddled him and he kinda went floppy and fell asleep!

I had an absolute fit when they tried the gas mask with me at that age, and it’s one of my earliest memories. They did gen anaesthetic in the end.

4 no but just shy of his 6th birthday, yes. All was well.

My son had it for grommits at two. He went under fine. Was a bit upset and discombobulated when he woke up but I think that might have been because I wasn't there (they call you when they wake up). I came to find him and he had about four nurses fussing and Peppa Pig on one of their phones. He had about three biscuits and then was fine!

Your DS will be fine OP.

My DS had a GA to remove his tonsils and adenoids when he was 23 months. Later, after he woke up he was singing a nursery rhyme!

My son is older at just turned 9 but he’s had at least 25 or more GA’s at this point within the past 9 months including 2 in one week more than once.

The risks are minimal, he’ll be absolutely fine.

DS was almost 3 when he had his first GA for adenoids.

Stayed with him while they administered it, cried buckets as he went to sleep - it does hit you and it is emotional leaving your precious child in the hands of strangers. But they're professionals and it was over quickly.

He came round fast and was off playing not long after.

He had GA again 2 years ago and was absolutely fine that time too. He's 10 now

Ask the anaesthetist about a pre med. Midazolam given by mouth is the commonest option nowadays (unless it's changed in the couple of years since I retired!) It tastes a bit unpleasant but works quickly and is generally effective. The downsides are that it can delay recovery and just occasionally it makes a child over stimulated rather than sedated. Plus there's the issue of getting them to take it, which if you have a child who is worked up and anxious already can be a challenge on occasion -we've probably all experienced trying to give our own children medicine of some kind when they're not feeling cooperative!
My personal practice re premeds was not to give one to a patient of any age, not just kids, unless there was a specific reason. Even with small children you can often gain sufficient cooperation with patience, distraction and a bit of flexibility (sometimes literal...I've anaesthetised children in some unconventional positions before now!) But I would always listen to parents especially if there were prior adverse experiences. All anaesthetists have their own "style" and techniques that they know work well in their hands but nobody knows a child like the parent and if they have had multiple procedures before it is a foolish doctor who doesn't at least listen to what they have to tell you about previous events. If your child has found medical procedures traumatic before, do let the anaesthetist know. Of course we can't guarantee to make everything stress free but forewarned is forearmed and we will generally do the best we possibly can to reduce anxiety.

just clarifying a couple of points mentioned here.... sedation (oral/ sometimes nasal) is commonly given to children who need it before they have their general anaesthetic. Not all children need it though and anaesthetists are pretty good at spotting the ones who'll be fine and those who'll need a pre-med. Although it is often possible to do a gas induction, that isn't always appropriate and for some children IV is both quicker and safer. We often use a sedative pre-med before a gas induction as well as IV for those children for whom the whole trip to theatre might be traumatic. Breathing vapour through the face mask is the anaesthetic - the cannula that goes in after a gas induction is for giving the rest of the medications needed (pain relief/anti-emetics etc).

One of mine had a GA at 3 to repair an umbilical hernia. She'd had it since she was 8 weeks old and we had only seen the hospital the previous morning for a referral for surgery. The hospital phoned us at lunchtime with a next day cancellation which meant we didn't have time to worry about it. It was scary watching the wonderful anaesthetist putting her under but he engaged with her and made us both so much more relaxed.

Hi op! I recently posted about my child needing a potential 8 teeth out and was going to be under GA.
Our son is 5 and basically we're told two teeth HAD to come out and because some of the others had the very starting signs of decay that it's easier just to whip them all out...
Me and DH sought a second opinion and honestly I'm so glad we did. Our boy had one tooth removed under local anaesthetic and a cap put on the tooth behind. Then just yesterday he went for his second appointment and exactly the same treatment again on the other aide of the mouth.

Firstly, I was 100% sure my son wouldn't go along with having a tooth out locally as he is super shy and sensitive. But he did it! Secondly, I think it's worth seeking second opinions.
We actually saw 3 different dentists - the original one, the one they referred us too since the original one thought he'd need GA and then the third one which was my husband's dentist.

Maybe finding a good paediatric dentist who can put your child at ease is the way forward rather than going to GA option?

The thing I wasn't prepared for was how quick it all is - if it all goes to plan, they'll probably put numbing cream on both hands, decide which to use, you'll go up, they'll administer the drugs, and it's all really quick. I was there with mine when he went under and was whisked away very quickly, as soon as his eyes closed. I was a bit "hang on that's my baby" (he was 7 and it was grommets , not an emergency) but yeah, that was the worst bit for me.