Surgery questions

No advice but just wishing you all the best ❤️❤️

Have you chosen which way to anaesthetise? I don’t know if you get a choice for all surgeries/ages, as my son was 2, but we had the choice between mask and cannula. The nil by mouth before surgery was a bit difficult because he kept asking for food and drinks, and then seeing him put to sleep wasn’t nice at all. They also bought him round from the anaesthetic in recovery (not back to the ward straight away) which I didn’t know would happen until the preop, and he wasn’t happy at all when he woke up there/without us. In terms of afterwards, we just had lots of cuddles, took the iPad with his favourite shows and lots of nice snacks etc. also had a present for him to unwrap for being a brave boy.

@Chloe Thank you so much for replying. They’ve mentioned both anaesthetic options depending on whether they can get the cannula in, I think given the choice I would choose for gas? It seems less scary in a way? Which did you opt for? We’ve been lucky that they’ve got us in for 7:30am so hopefully she won’t be too angry about food but I’m also definitely dreading seeing her go to sleep. I didn’t realise they brought them round in recovery not with you on the ward, that must be awful for the little ones. So sorry you’ve had to go through it too. iPad is a good idea! And the present and snacks! Thank you!

@Manisha thank you so much 🩷

We opted for gas. I won’t lie to you, it was worse than I imagined it would be and he didn’t want the mask on at all (the gas smelt weird and the room full of people scared him a bit) so I had to hold him down whilst they held it over his face. BUT it worked SO quickly, and he didn’t like the cannula in his hand when he came back from surgery so I can only imagine he’d have hated them putting it in beforehand, so I still think the mask was the right call for us! We also had an 8am scheduled surgery, but there was a little delay. It might work differently in different hospitals, so definitely worth asking what happens when the surgery is done so you know what to expect. If you can, take a walk whilst she’s down, get a snack, try and keep distracted. Good luck!! This will all be over and done with soon!

My little one has had 2 surgeries 1 at 6 months old and another at 12 months old as he was born with a cleft lip. I won’t lie It’s terrifying watching your little one fall asleep, mine had the gas, as they fight it and fight it and then go all floppy. Make sure to ask how long the surgery is as I found that regular time checking kept me sane. My best advice is to make sure you have access to lots of their favourite TV show or movie. Also is they have a teddy or blanket that they usually sleep with make sure you have that as my son cuddled his like his life depended on it once he was back on the ward. If you have any other questions feel free to message me ❤️ x