Advice wanted on childrens general anaesthetic

[poshwellies]

My ds (he's 6) needs 4 teeth removing under ga at the local hospital.He has a ga before when he was 3 for a fairly minor op (I think he was under for 30 minutes in total) but he had problems with his blood pressure and failed to 'wake up' quickily after the op and was out of it for a couple of hours- we actually got called up from the ward to try and wake him up while he was in recovery.It was all quite worrying but he did recover well and was allowed home the same day.

Is this a common reaction? Would it happen again? I'm quite nervous about him having a ga now (although I realise it needs to be done and the last ga would be fully documented on his hospital records)Has anyone had this with their dc's?

Thanks in advance (I'm trying not to fret about it )

I have had general 4 times myself, once as a child and 3 as an adult. I myself have never had problems waking up.

My nephew had an op last week, and he came round right away and was up and about playing the same afternoon.

I would personally crap myself if one of my kids needed and operation.

The actual process of having general is not that distressing for me, but its not nice being a parent.

If I where you, because it is not a life or death thing and you can technically wait, I would book an appointment with the consultant surgeon and the anesthatist (spelt wrong) and get the notes from the last op and disuss them.

Its always best to do reseach and get advice, maybe even a second opinion before committing again, then you can be armed with all the information.

DD had 2 teeth taken out a couple of weeks ago and it was absolutely fine. I think tooth removal is usually quite a quick op so she only had a very light anaesthetic and didn't even need to be intubated. She was awake and back on the ward within about 20 minutes or so.

Why don't you ask if you can meet with the anaesthetist befor ethe day to discuss your concerns - you will get to meet him/her on the day, but you might feel better if you can talk it through in advance?

Thanks for your input

I will be having a detailed talk with the anaesthetist ,to be honest we weren't really given all the details of why his blood pressure plummeted,so we will be seeking some more information on that.

I'm not a precious mother,if he needs the op-which he does as these teeth are now causing pain and infection,he'll have it .I think ga is always worrying when it's your children.I have ga a fair few times with no problems whatsoever,I think this is why his reaction to it shocked me a little.

Thanks Daisy,I guess dental work commands a lighter dose so maybe we won't have the problems like the last time.