The Surgery

We perform surgery on the second floor of the Women’s and Children’s Hospital at Centennial. We ask that you arrive at the hospital 2 hours prior to your scheduled surgery time. You may park in the lots located across from the entrance of the Women’s and Children’s hospital on Murphy Avenue. Once in the hospital, proceed to the second floor and follow the signs to “EMA” (Early Morning Admission). It is here that you will be checked-in and taken back to one of the pre-op holding rooms. Please feel free to dress your child in whatever makes them most comfortable and bring along any blankets, stuffed animals or electronic games that puts your child at ease.

Once in the holding room, you will meet a lot of new people and fill out a lot of paperwork. Each of these people is a member of our team and plays an integral role in the peri-operative process. You will have a chance to meet the OR-nurse who can answer many of your questions. Children younger than 13-years old do not usually have an IV placed while they are awake. Instead, they are first taken to the operating room where they will inhale anesthesia “gas” to go to sleep before having their IV placed. For children older than 13 and in some special circumstances, we will place an IV in the holding room.

In the holding room, you will also have the opportunity to meet our Pediatric Anesthesia Team. These are the physicians and practitioners who provide the general anesthesia during the operation. They will explain the process and give you the opportunity to ask questions. Sometimes the anesthesiologist will give your child a mild sedative to take by mouth to ease his or her anxiety when going back to the operating room.