General Anaesthesia for children

Matilda's been booked in for a Cystogram/cystoscope in a few weeks. Her kidneys have scaring on both of them. Her left kidney has a duplex system which means she has two ureters coming from her left kidney to her bladder. She's two severe UTI's in the past 6 months.

We saw a paediatric urologist today who said that she needed to do further invasive diagnostic tests and stick a camera into Matilda's bladder to see what was going on in there.

It means a full general anaesthesia, a day in hospital, possibly a night as well. Fasting... hmmmm I don't know what else.

So what do we expect as far as the anaesthesia goes?

Hi Christy

DS had his tonsills and adenoids out a few months ago, I posted about his GA in another thread. He did have to fast, and TBH as far as he was concerned this was the worst thing. His op was booked for 2.30pm and he had to fast from 7am. Was allowed a light breakfast before then. He just didn't understand that he couldn't eat and as begging me for water and food but thankfully Matilda is a bit older so hopefully you'll be able to explain it to her or that she is booked for a morning op and only needs to miss breakfast.

The info I was given was, that the following may occur,

* He could struggle against the GA, arch back etc
* His eyes could roll back
* He would go really floopy really fast.
* He could fall asleep with his eyes open
* He could make some noises once asleep.

They also told us in recovery that:

* He might be disorientated.
* He would most likely cry for a while (DS calmed down after about 40 mins)
* He might hit me because he was disorientated.
* He might vomit
* He might be shaking.
* He may try to pull his drip out.

Although it sounds scary, I found being prepared for all the possibilities was so helpful. no nasty surprises that way.

The good news is that after he was out of recovery, he was back to his normal self really quickly, was was very hungry and thirsty becuase he had been fasting.

I hope this helps, I was surprised how well he did, he really did bound back really quickly.

Any other questions just ask.

Spring angel gave you somuch amazing information/advice. I can't think of anything else to add. Have you got someone to support you during her procedure?

Hi,

My son just had his second general this morning actually. SpringAngels advice is very good, and comprehensive!

Every child will be different though. My son is on the "flip out" end of the spectrum both for going under and in recovery (lucky me). But I've seen plenty of other kids (in recovery) who do much better and just wake up quietly.

Its distressing when they struggle and flip out but you know what? Its much worse for the parent than the child :-) Its hard to watch, but your child will bounce back and barely remember it in an hour or two. My son screamed for an hour in recovery and then just got over it and had a ball with an icy pole.

So just be prepared, take a support person with you and remember even if they have an intense reaction they'll bounce back fine. :-)

good luck, i hope you get some good answers!

Cheers, Kim.

DD1 was one of those that had a bad reaction too. She freaked out.
Watching her go under was harder. They were holding her down & I could see how scared she was, fighting to get away. They ended up taking me out coz I was so upset watching it (pregnancy hormones didn't agree).
After wards she woke up screaming & shaking & was very antzy. It did calm down after about an hour, but it wasn't fun to watch. For her it actually took that whole day for her to settle completely. We have a family history of those sort of rections to medications though.
Every other child in there (there were 3 others) was fine. Sleepy & groggy afterwards. Quiet. All seemed settled with in the hour. All had the same precedure (tonsils, adenoids, grommits).
She had to fast too, but we were lucky she was booked in at 9am, so it wasn't too hard.

Christy, have you got Rescue Remedy? You could apply it to her forehead before she went in - and some for yourself too xoxoxo

My DD had a general when she was nearly 3. Quite a few of the things Spring mentioned happened with her.

She was very disoriented when she woke up. Once she was fully alert, she went giggly and hyper for about 5 hours. No other after-effects of the GA for her.

Wow glad to have found this thread, DD has a GA in two weeks for surgery. I am going to keep all this in mind especially the Resuce Remedy!!

I agree - excellent advice!

Just want to add, a comfort toy dor DD. If she has a special toy she goes to bed with or something. Something that will help her to be comforted when she goes in for her anesthetic and when she is in recovery. Also try and prepare her for it - explain that she will go to sleep in one room and wake in another. That she will have a special straw in her hand (the cannula) but she mustn't pull it out (a good hospital will bandage it so it isn't a temptation to pull it out). Explain that the nurses will look after her in recovery and she will get to see Mummy soon.

You need to prepare yourself for how she will be when she falls asleep. I know you have training as a vet nurse and you know how the animal body reacts when it is anethetized. The human body isn't too different - but it can still be traumatic for a parent to see their child suddenly go limp or to be chatting away one second and stop mid word. It's ok to cry when she goes off to sleep - the staff won't mind. (I am assuming you will be allowed into the anesthetic room with her).

Any questions, feel free to ask.

MG