Minor child operation. What happens.

[RevolvingPivot]

Hi I'm posting here because my posts in the children's health section don't really get seen.

Dd9 is having a minor cosmetic operation next week.

I know I should have asked but I didn't.......

Couple of questions

1. How long do these operations usually take?

1. How long does it take to wake up from anaesthetic and then recover/ eat / drink and go home?

I'm autistic and have bad anxiety abs rarely leave the house. I don't go anywhere on my own. Obviously no one else can come with me. My mum phoned to ask they said no. DH is able to fly home early and said he would take her but DD wants me and despite my issues I would like to be there.

1. What do I do for 4/5 maybe longer hours on my own?

I'm dreading leaving her when she's put to sleep. I've heard kids can become hysterical confused and angry once they've woken up.

I had another post which I had some good replies too. I mentioned I'm worried about the risks and to say it's not life threatening or harmful in anyway so she doesn't NEED the op just wants it.

Thank you

As a veteran of seeing DD go under a GA several times I can assure you that you really don't need to worry.

The length of the operation depends on the procedure your DD is having.

I assume your DD will be nil by mouth before the op, and it is important that you stick to it. When you get to the hospital ask them where your DD is on the list and how long the operation will take. When they have done the operation your DD will be moved to the post operation care unit, and they will call you down so that you can be with her.

Take a book or kindle and find a quiet cafe or somewhere nice and quiet to sit. Good luck.

You get to go to the anaesthetic room with them, if they use canula drugs to knock them out it will only take about 10 seconds from the first syringe to them being asleep, otherwise it will be a mask & maybe 2 minutes. You will be taken back to the ward until the op is over & then you will go down to recovery to be with your child as they wake up, they will probably have a small drink before you go back to the ward. Once your child is more alert they will be offered something to eat, if your child is a picky eater, take something you know they will like from home. When the staff are happy with the obs, that they are not in pain & have been to the loo you should be okay to go home. If it is something small they may only be in theatre 15 minutes. I would plan to be at the hospital 6 hours but it will probably be much less, take a book, a drink & a snack for yourself, dress them in comfy clothes, if you are travelling by car & can park in the hospital you could even take them home in pjs so they can nap if needed as soon as you get home, take a bowl or bag in case of sickness & have some wipes, you probably won't need them but it is better than having to have the car valeted.

Sorry only read the first comment.

Hi thank you. Yes they said I will be given a buzzer so I don't think I'm allowed in the ward.

She can't eat from 7.30

Great advice thank you both.

She's worried about taking her underwear off and having the gown on lol.

Also she's having a tube inside her leg attached to a machine. I've forgotten what this is for.

Anaesthesia Advice www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childrens_health/4350571-anaesthesia-advice

My other thread

Of course I'm worried about my daughter but I'm also worried where I will wait. There is a canteen but can I really sit there hours? I would have thought there would be a waiting area.

Also she needs a skin graft so she will have two scars. I feel she doesn't fully understand what is going to happen. You will be able to see what she's had done although the birthmark won't be brown. It's quite large.

@RevolvingPivot

Of course I'm worried about my daughter but I'm also worried where I will wait. There is a canteen but can I really sit there hours? I would have thought there would be a waiting area.

I can't help with the other questions but my DH had day surgery last year and it was miles from home - I ended up spending 5 hours in the canteen with my kindle & phone and staff were fine with it

Hope it goes well

I meant to add I did regularly buy drinks in the canteen and a snack for lunch etc

My son hwd some teeth out at five he has severe autism and learning disabilities, you can go in with them when they have the anaesthetic, but ill warn i was in floods of tears when he went to sleep, i have anxiety too and waiting for the operation to end felt like forever, due to my son, s disabilities they said it might take a bit longer than usual, he recovered well and i think we took him home a couple of hours after the op good luck.

I waited on the ward but this was six years ago, so obviously long before covid, my son was a bit tearful when he came around but not hysterical, hes non verbal but he didnt appear to be confused, i was more of a mess tbh!

Paediatric nurse here.
For minor procedures, the minimum post op stay is 1 hour. And they have to have eaten and drank and be up and about.

You can go down to the anaesthetic room and stay till they are asleep. Someone will come with you. The anaesthetist will tell you to give them a kiss and that's your signal to leave. Most parents cry afterwards. We are used to it! Try not to get upset in front of your child as it upsets them. Go and get yourself a coffee or food and go back to the ward when ready. They will take you to recovery when recovery are ready for you. (You won't be there when they first wake up though)

Some kids wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed. Some are sleepy. Some cry and are unsettled. If unsettled and fighting you. (Usually toddlers) let them go back to sleep and wake up on their own. Always works.

Stock up on paracetamol and ibuprofen.

My son had a tooth out last year under general. I stayed with him till he was asleep. Then sat in the waiting room outside. They called me back when he was awake and he was very alert but a bit "high" and talking lots, it was quite funny really because he kept asking if this was part of a dream and asking me and the nurse to prove we were real. We stayed in the recovery area till he was up and about then went home. The staff were great and talked to him lots about what was happening, I'm sure they will be great with your dd. Anything you aren't sure of just ask.

You can ask the hospital how long the surgery takes.

I took my son recently and only one parent could go into theatre or onto the ward, but anyone can enter the hospital itself and the cafe area.

If the surgery itself really will be hours, then someone could meet you in the cafe and wait with you there.

Not sure it helps but I had a cosmetic procedure which sounds similar when I was 14. I remember staff being extremely kind and explaining what was going on etc. Only had to stay a couple of hours after. My mum was in bits but this is probably normal. I was fine. Back then she was allowed to wait on the ward but I imagine that is not possible now.

One parent can still wait on the ward. Technically you are not supposed to leave the hospital or meet anyone else. But in reality, we just don't care where you go. And want the visiting rules to change as much as the patients.

When 16 year old ds had a minor procedure, I had to wait on the ward. I just went on my phone. Anaesthetics are more refined than they used to be and people tend not to wake up agitated or vomiting, just a bit sleepy.

Ds has had grommets 3 times (an appendicitis once!)

You'll have to ask for approximate time it will take. BUT don't panic too much if things take longer. Ds went down for his appendix op with them saying it was about an hour. It was over 4.5 hours later that I was told he was in recovery (appendix was in a funny place).

The recovery again it depends on the child. Ds takes ages to come out properly.-the children who went in two hours after him are running round the ward and he's still throwing up and drowsy.

Waking up can be confusing for them because they're not in the same room they left, and with no one they know. Worth letting them know that. What I say is that when they feel ready they can ask for me to be sent for, and I'll come as quickly as I can (which normally involves me getting lost at least once which slows me down) You won't be allowed to watch them wake up.

Ds' best moment was when he was 3yo. Woke up, leapt into the arms of the nurse who was sitting with him, looked at her, shouted "you're not mummy" and kicked her. Thankfully she thought this was funny.

Thing ds found most distressing when he was younger was waking to the cannula in his hand. That's in case they need to get drugs in quickly. Worth warning her about that.

Procedure we've had is: Admission onto the ward and given a bed. Lots of checks done, and at this point you can request a play therapist if they're nervous.
You go to the anaesthetic room with them. They do need to lean back and breath the gas. When ds was 6yo they challenged him to blow a balloon up at the end of a tube and when he was taking big breaths to do that they swapped the gas in.
That's the point I find hardest. they flop back, eyes rolling and you have to leave them.

Go and get yourself some food first, and then we were allowed to wait on the ward. There'll be a chair next to the bed.

When they're in recovery they'll tell you and (probably) let you go down once they're awake and they've given them basic checks. They may not. With ds' appendix, I was told due to covid no one was allowed in recovery, but it took so long no one else was around so they let me.

They'll then push the bed back to the ward.

Once they're properly awake they're keen to get food and drink in and a toilet trip! Ds normally drowses for 2-4 hours before he'll start eating, and if it's on the later side of that the nurses are normally getting a little frantic to get him eating anything. He normally throws up the first food he eats too. He'll also throw up the first time he gets up to the toilet too.

Once he's eaten and kept something down he normally goes back to sleep for another couple of hours at least. When he's kept food down and gone to the toilet, they'll be quite keen to discharge him, so it's wheelchair (if he needs it) down to the car and home, where he'll flop for about another 12-24 hours and then be back to normal.

I have watched my kids have more than 10 GAs.

The team know what they are doing, and will steer you through the process making it all seem matter of fact and normal on the day. This is best for your Dd.

The anaesthetist will come and talk to you on the ward. The anaesthetist stays with your Dd throughout the operation, monitoring blood gases etc. When you talk to the anaesthetist ask about them putting in pain relief before your Dd comes round: will they give her anything?

They bring them round quite quickly and will call you once your Dd is ready.

When you see her, encourage deep breathing, in through the nose, out through the mouth. The more oxygen she takes in, the quicker the anaesthetic leaves her body.

The operation may well take longer than the Dr tells you. Surgeons tend to time their own involvement. In reality, once your Dd is unconscious the anaesthetist will take time putting a line in, getting the anaesthetic to the right level etc. And afterwards the more junior Drs and nursing team may spend time cleaning up,applying dressings or whatever. So do not panic once the time is up. Honestly, sometimes we waited an extra hour or so.

There will be a lot of waiting around. Have a new distraction for your Dd, film on iPad, new activity or toy that is suitable, etc.

Take headphones to spare other patients!

We didn’t eat or drink in front of Dc when they were nil by mouth and waiting. Make sure you have a good meal, in secret, beforehand because being hungry won’t help you to support her.

Go for a walk, talk to friends on phone, read, do your admin, watch film on iPad, take puzzle book. What would you do on a long train or plane journey?

Good luck OP.

It isn’t as bad as you think it will be in advance.

But I won’t lie: seeing your child unconscious on a trolley is very emotional. I always cried on my way out of the anaesthetic room.

But you quickly remind yourself that they are in expert ha Ds, and head off to the coffee shop.

@RevolvingPivot

Of course I'm worried about my daughter but I'm also worried where I will wait. There is a canteen but can I really sit there hours? I would have thought there would be a waiting area.

In our hospital there is a little waiting room for parents close to the ward. There’s a kitchenette with tea and coffee to help yourself to a sofa and a tv. Needed a code to get in this was pre COVID though. Hospital is massive though so it could take ages to get back from the canteen I think they liked to know parents were close.

My daughter had a tooth out under GA. She is pretty anxious and uncooperative which is why we were under the hospital in the first place. I was so worried about her being frightened but it was easy. She didn't have an easy vein on her hand for a cannula so they gave her gas. They did warn me that as she fell asleep she might try to fight it but actually it was really peaceful. They held the mask under her nose and she drew on an iPad as she fell asleep. She was writing her name and it just got more wiggly until she was asleep. She didn't cry or protest or look frightened at all it was totally calm.

I waited on some chairs just outside with a buzzer and when they called me back in she was sat up like nothing had happened. We went home an hour later and she was a bit unsettled in the car but then had a two hour sleep and played in the garden totally normal as soon as she woke up. Also, the bonus is two years on she has no recollection of it at all.

Good luck OP, the staff will be really experienced with children and I hope all goes well.

Not all hospitals have anaesthetic rooms - patients are anaesthetised in the operating theatre if this is the case, and you should check if you’ll be allowed into the theatre.

Thanks all. As I said I don't go out on my own so today is the only say I can go shopping.

I'll take water and snacks for afterwards.

No point taking a book she wouldn't read it.

Not sure if she's stopping in.

I need ibuprofen I think. Anything else? X