We think
that children (and their families) recover from surgery best
if they're together as much as possible, so we work hard to
separate them as little as possible. In most cases, parents
come with children into the operating room, and stay with
them until they are asleep. (For safety reasons, we can't
have parents stay during the actual surgery.) When the operation
has been completed, parents are brought to the recovery room,
so that they can be with their child as he or she awakens
from anesthesia. Most children will
have no memory of any part of the day when their parents were
not with them.
The Babies
& Children's Hospital of New York also provides for:
Parental
visiting 24 hours a day
Parental
rooming-in with child
Parent
support groups
A
Child Life Center, which provides schooling and age-appropriate
play activities
Big
Apple Circus Clown Program
Clinical
nurse coordinator, who provides counseling and healthcare
services to patients and their families
Day
surgery (ambulatory surgery) and family-centered care.
Many operations
that once required hospitalization can now be safely done
on an outpatient basis. Depending on the child, this can include
such procedures as hernia or hydrocele
surgery, excision of cysts, and so on. For a child, it means
the comfort of returning home after the immediate recovery
period; for a family, the least disruption possible. For example,
a child who has a procedure in the morning is often ready
to go home by the early afternoon. (Children still receive
the complete evaluation of a pediatric surgeon and pediatric
anesthesiologist, and are carefully monitored until they have
completely recovered from anesthesia.)
It's
sometimes helpful for parents and children to make a preoperative
visit to the operating area before the day of surgery. We
generally arrange this at the time of an initial consultation.
Disclaimer:All material included in this site is intended for informational purposes only.
Readers are encouraged to confirm the information contained herein with other sources. Parents and patients should review the
information carefully with their pediatrician, family physician, or other professional health care provider. The information is not
intended, and should not be used, to replace medical advice offered by physicians. Columbia-Presbyterian and Weill-Cornell Medical
Centers, the Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, and the Division of Pediatric Surgery will not be liable for any direct, indirect,
consequential, special, exemplary, or other damages arising therefrom.
