Anesthesia for an Infant

DC (9 months old) needs an exploratory procedure done that requires general anesthesia. I'm kinda freaking out about the whole situation and I was hoping there were some parents on here that could share their experience with a similar aged child and anesthesia. Any side effects that your child experienced? Long-term effects? Any important questions I should ask the anesthesiologist? All advice is appreciated

TIA

Anesthesia for an Infant

My daughter was anesthetized when she underwent her MRIs. The no eating or drinking part is difficult because they cannot understand why they can't eat or drink. I went with them into the room just before they started the anesthesia. They gave her some versed which is a type of sedative that has an amnesia effect so they don't remember anything right before the anesthesia. She had it many times before when she was hospitalized and intubated and she had no effects from it. Then when she was nice and comfortable, I had to leave the room but they told me that they were going to put an iv in and put her to sleep. When it was over, she woke up very groggy, very cranky, and very hungry. I was able to give her a bottle immediately. Then they monitored her for awhile to make sure her vitals were good.

Not going to lie, it's terrifying to have your child put under like that. Best you can do is try to preoccupy yourself as much as possible.

Anesthesia for an Infant

MY DS was put under when he was 11 months old. While I was very nervous and made my DH go with him into he operating room because I just couldn't, DS was fine and handled it like a champ. He was a little disorientated when waking up but other than that fine.

Re: Anesthesia for an Infant

At 9 months, they will give your kid a mask and have him breathe a gas that will have him go to sleep. Before they go to sleep, there is a point that they may struggle or cry (partly because the gas makes them energetic for a little while, partly because they don't like having things held on their face). This is easier with older kids because they hold the mask and can often even play count down and may giggle. They will probably do the IV once he is asleep (unless there is another issue with your kid that may make his breathing or IV access hard when he's alseep... you can ask the anesthesiologist that question).

Waking up may be disorienting for a little while. You will be there, but it's like waking from a nightmare...

Long term effects are something you may hear about in the news. The truth is no one knows (no good data out there). But no one gets anesthesia for fun.

Good luck.

Anesthesia for an Infant

My son had it at 7 weeks and again at 7 months. My older guy had it at 10 months. It is definitely not easy to watch. At 7 weeks they took him from me awake. It was heart wrenching for me. At 7 months I was allowed back as they sedated him. As described above, he did cry, arched, and kicked. It looked like his eyes were rolling back. Then he was out. So unsettling. He awoke both times screaming and didn't stop until he was awake enough to realize it was me holding him. We have seen no long term effects thus far. My 4 year old has hit all milestones and then some as has my 2 year old. Good luck to your little one.

Re: Anesthesia for an Infant

My son had it. Sometime between 6-9 months. Wasn't a huge deal. I went back with him when they gave him the gas mask. He was crying when they first put it on. He was out in about 30 seconds. I left they did what they had to do.

Hardest part is not feeding him prior. Ask for a super early appointment.

Re: Anesthesia for an Infant

DD is a bit older but just had it last month, at 19 months old. She wouldn't lie on the table so I held her while they sedated her. It's just a mask over her face. I sang Itsy Bitsy Spider to her (her favorite song) while they were putting her under and the whole room joined it, which was actually quite lovely. When she came out of anesthesia she was VERY irritable for about 20 minutes afterwards. Basically cried on and off that whole time, but the nurses told me to expect that. She was was a bit more sleepy that day than usual, but other than that, absolutely no other side effects.

The anticipation was much worse than the reality.

Re: Anesthesia for an Infant

My daughter had anesthesia like 5 times between 6 months to 13 months old. Most were around 9 months. Sometimes she was under anesthesia for like 6 hours because it took them 2 hours just to place the damn IV. It was fine for her to come out of anesthesia. I would feed her immediately after. She would be groggy. Only once was it bad, she was practically hypothermic (not sure if this word is right) but they had her wrapped up in hot blankets and we couldn't hold her right away. That one time was very very hard because it took her a long time to wake up and she was so cold looking. She is 4.5 years old now, in preschool, and is doing 1st grade curriculum work. So I don't believe the "anesthesia may affect the brain" or at least we just got lucky and it didn't hurt her.

Anesthesia for an Infant

dd was 2 months. they took her from me while she was awake so I didn't see anything. When I saw her in recovery she was still sleeping and woke up just fine. She is 1 1/2 now and totally fine. like the above poster said, the hardest part is not being able to feed them prior. good luck!

Re: Anesthesia for an Infant