Ideas / websites for preparing 2.7 y.o. for general anaesthetic & operation?

[AngelDog]

2.7 y.o. DS has to have a minor operation under general anaesthetic on Friday. Unfortunately the hospital play specialist won't be available to go through things like the staff in gowns, masks etc.

Are there any good websites for introducing children to that sort of thing? DS is very amenable to reason and discussion and I think if I can show him some pictures or videos etc he'll take it all in his stride.

Hi there, sorry your DS has to have op. I found one a while ago on the internet that helped my son. It is a Mr Tumbles goes to the Children's Hospital and the little boy in the programme goes under anaesthetic. I'm sure if you google it or You Tube it then it will be somewhere.

Sorry don't know of any websites.

My dd had an operation aged 3 and the nurse came to the waiting room and gave her some medecine to make her drowsy (mixed into some apple juice in a beaker - maybe a tablespoons worth) as she sat on my knee. She drank it willingly as she was thirsty due to not having food or drink that morning. Half an hour later they came to take her through and she was so drowsy although still awake but went happily. They called me into the wake up room after it was over where she slowly came round sitting on my knee again.

Hope you aren't too worried, it is very scary when you have to see your dc wheeled through those doors to the OP room but the way my dd's operation was dealt with it was not at all traumatic for her. Hope that can reassure you abit.

My DD is 6 so a little bit older than your DS, but they gave her one of these books before her operation. The photos in the book were all taken at the hospital she was in so it was familiar for her. Have you had a pre-op appointment yet? Ask if they do a similar one for your hospital then or phone them beforehand.

Is it a children's hospital or ward that your DS will be on? Even if the play therapist won't be available, his nurse and the other staff should know how to deal with children appropriately .i.e so they are not scared or confused. For DD they did things like drawing pictures on the plasters for after the blood tests and choosing stickers to go on the bandages. The best part for her was getting to drive a quad bike to the operating theatre- so obviously she was so excited when it was her turn to go down and zoomed away down the corridor!

Thanks, everyone.

It's a children's day ward he's going to, so should be okay. We've actually been there before for blood tests and DS is excited about seeing the train set and fish tank again.

The procedure will only take about 2 mins - it's to remove a nasty splinter from under his thumbnail, which they failed to get out without sedation. We saw the consultant today so I guess that was the pre-op visit.

Unfortunately I've scared him by telling him that I'll be there when he wakes up from the op - I don't think the possibility of me not being there had occurred to him until then.

Now my main concern is how on earth we're going to get there for 7am - normally we can't manage to leave the house before 10!

Your poor ds - hope it goes smoothly!

Thanks!

For anyone who happens to find this and is interested, I found a video here which is pretty comprehensive. Sadly the Mr Tumble one isn't available to watch.