Advice on How to Prep for Surgery

My daughter (now 10) had numerous ENT procedures the first at 9 months. Her adenoids were removed around the age of 4. We have always dealt with new issues through education. There are a lot of "I'm going to the Hospital" type books available (I specifically recall one called "goodbye tonsils" when she later had her tonsils removed) These books help explain what will happen and what she can expect. If she's not been exposed at all to the hospital setting, I think it would be worth your while to visit the surgical unit before. Children's and BTNRH will allow this and you can show her the mask they will place on her face, etc. They always gave my daughter a liquid "relaxer" prior to taking her back to surgery or putting in any lines, etc.; she was typically asleep prior to even leaving the room. Both area children's hospitals are well equipped with toys and do an excellent job of catering to children. Jammies have cartoon characters, nurses explain what is happening to the child, etc.
We also always took a special wrapped surprise that she could open after surgery (a new Barbie or something she really wanted). After surgery at home, we made "sno cones" using crushed ice. I found the flavored syrup at Target and this was soothing and different for her.
My daughter always came through like a trooper and I am convinced it was much more difficult on us, the parents, than the child! Above all, be brave for her and look upon it as an adventure. If I can be of further help, please feel free to contact me. I am confident all will go well = good luck!

My son is 2 1/2 and just recently had this same surgery. We prepped him not by going through all the motions because we weren't going to a hopsital just a same day surgery center but by letting him just be him and introducing him to all the people that were going to help him there. He's very bubbly and friendly usually and this helped him "make friends" with the nurses and doctors. They also let us bring a stuffed animal for him to cuddle while he fell asleep and had his favorite juice when he woke up. It's a fairly short procedure and usually scarier for the parents than the child.

I would prepare her by getting another opinion - a holistic one. Most children with ear infections are suffering from allergies and the need for chiropractic manipulation. If you haven't ruled out these simple alternatives to surgery, please give it a try for your daughter's sake. I have known hundreds of children who have had ear infections without any resulting surgery by going this route (and I am not even a chiropractor!). These parents have been relieved to find out that their child's problem is so easily solved by a moderated diet and some short-term chiropractic care.

I have written a children's book on this topic you can find on my website (and maybe in your library) called: KoKo Bear's Big Earache-$8.95-by V. Lansky or at www.practicalparenting.com or ###-###-####.

I wrote it in response to your same question. KoKois a unisex bear who goes through this day surgical procedure. We've had LOTS of ENT surgeons who give this out free to their patients but most don't know about it. We've sold 75,000 copies and it is a great resource. We've never gotten the book reviewed in parenting magazines because being pro-surgery has not been 'politically correct' for editors for years.

Our daughter had several sets of tubes and then just this last year at age 5 she had her tubes removed. Each time we started talking about it the day before. We talked about going to the hospital where she would get to put on some PJS and get to see Dr Brown. We talk about that we would be with her and she would get to breath in some sweet smelling air that would make her sleepy and she wouldn't feel a thing.

Where our daughter had it done she got to pick a flavor that was like chapstick that the rubbed on the inside of the air mask. This last time, at 5, my duaghter was fully aware of everything that was going on - while she resisted a little and said she was scared right before she went under (which was harder on me than her!)she did great.

L.,

Where are you having the surgery done? The hospital may have programs to help your daughter prepare for the surgery. My friend's daugther, who is approximately the same age as your daughter, recently had her tonsils and adenoids removed at Children's in St. Paul. At Childrens, they had a puppet show, tour of the hospital, etc.

I hope all goes well!

L.

L., you didn't mention where you were having the procedure done. My son had his adnoids out at Childrens' and they have a great program where you take your child in and they get to see all the places where they will go, get to see the special jammies, the popsicals the machines, etc. If you are going there, call them. You'll want to do that. If it is somewhere else.... you'll need advice from someone else!
Good luck. FYI, for us, this procedure was fast with almost no pain and no complications. I had a hard time convincing my son to rest because he felt fine.

My brother had his adenoids removed as a child. He also had tubes in his ears. The surgery went fine, but now he is 42 years old and he could tell you how the surgery did nothing for his ear/throat problems. It was twenty years later when he stumbled across a chiropractor who tested him for food allergies. When he omitted dairy he felt great! No more mucus dripping down the back of his throat, no more constant slight congestion, he could even hear better.

You may have already checked, but if not I would recommend it. Surgery is a last resort, but a surgeon is not the one to tell you that.

Good luck

My 4 year old had this same thing done not to long ago. Our doctor gave us a coloring book and a story book that explained the whole procedure in a way that little ones can understand. Maybe you could ask your doctor if they have something like that. I read the book to him and he asked me a few questions and he handled it pretty well. Beware when they first start to wake up after the procedure. The anesthesia can have the side effect of making them cry when they first start to come out of it. Good luck to you.

Hi L.,
My oldest boy had his aednoids out and tubes in at 3 1/2 also. He just had a second set of tubes put in at 4 1/2. Here is what we did that seemed to help him quite a bit. I drew (very basic) pictures of each step that we would do on the morning of surgery, starting with a clock and the time we would leave for the hospital; driving in the car; a picture of elevator doors and and what floor # he could push the button for; waiting in chairs in the waiting room; going to the next waiting room with the nurse; putting on the hospital clothes; going down the hallway with him and the anesthesiologist (doctor with the mask) holding his hand; laying down going to sleep in the operating room; back with mom and dad & drinking juice; and the last box on the paper was getting his surprise (which we let him name ahead of time and we had it waiting for him in the car after surgery- this time it was a batman backpack). I think I had 9 "boxes" or steps on the paper and drew it all with marker and very simple things he could recognize. We talked about each of the steps and he added some ideas of his own and we drew those in. We took the paper with us on the morning of surgery so he could look at it and see what "step" we were at and what was left to do before getting his surprise.
We started drawing the pictures and talking to him about 2-3 days before surgery. This seemed to give him enough time to process it and us to go over it several times but not too much time to worry about it. This seemed to work well for him- he's a kid who likes to know "what's next". I hope surgery goes well and smoothly for you and your daughter. We noticed a huge difference in our son after he had the surgery. He just seemed to feel a lot better day to day.
Hope this helps some-
Tami

Our daughter had a pretty extensive surgery on her kidney/bladder when she was 4. Children's hospital was wonderful at prepping a child for surgery. They let them pick out the scent for the anesthesia, show them the "special" gown and slippers they get to wear, and told them that Mom and Dad would be there after they wake up. We didn't say much until the week before saying that we were going to the special doctor that was going to make her all better. You could also mention that she can have ice cream after! My daughter went on to having 2 more surgeries after that, and was not scared at all.

M. A

My son was about three when he had tubes put in his ears and then about three months later he had his adenoids removed. The day before the surgery I think I casually talked to him about it over dinner or something. I kept it very light and simple and made sure I didn't sound scared because I didn't want him to tune into that and be scared himself. I told him the doctor decided that there was something in the very back of his throat that needed to be fixed so he would feel better.

When we got to the hospital the next day, the doctor and anesthesiologist (sp?) came and talked to him before the surgery. They had a little mask and a bear that they used to show him what they would do to help him fall asleep and they let him practice with it. Then they asked him to pick the scent he wanted inside the mask to make it smell good.

Besides that, we talked about him having a sore throat when he woke up, but it wouldn't last long and he could have a popcicle to help it feel better. I also told him I'd be there the whole time. At the Children's hospital they let me stay with him while he fell asleep and they brought me to him before he woke up, so that was really nice. Things went VERY well. Good luck!

My son had his adenoids & tonsils out last summer right before he was 3. I didn't tell him too much except that the Dr. is going to check on his throat & help it get better. I also read a few books to him about operations (Franklin) & it helped him understand that you need to have an operation in order to get better. If you give them too much info they tend to overthink things & get more scared. We also visited the hospital the week before & they explained things to us & showed him everything. Good luck-my son recovered really quickly & I hope the same for your daughter.

Hope I am not coming too late to this... If your child is going to Children's or to the SDS (Same Day Surgery) center across the street, you can have them go through the CHILD LIFE series. Call Childrens and ask for the Child Life Specialist office. Tell them you want to make an appointment or come for the open tour session. They are wonderful. HCMC is the other hospital that has a wonderfull Child Life program. Some of the other hospitals are getting them too, but these are exceptional well developed ones. Good luck.

Hi,
My daughter just had her tonsils and adenoids out a couple of months ago and she is 3 1/2. Be honest with her. I told her why we were going to the hospital, about all the doctors and nurses who were going to help her. Children's had a nice DVD that explained things. When she cried and said she didn't want to go because it will hurt (which I didn't mention), I simply told her they would give her some really good medicine. She was very excited about packing a bag for the hospital. Be sure to bring her "lovey" and comfort items. You might want some of her favorite movies for during recovery (depending on how long she'll be there - mine was overnight) All went smoothly and better than I imagined.

Good luck,
K.

My son was five when he had this surgery. I think I focused on the popsicles and jello that he could have afterward. (Don't know if they still do that.) Before the surgery he was nearly deaf so I don't think he really heard the explanation or anything. I think he just saw that this was not real big deal to me so it wasn't to him. Kids often gage their stress level by how stressed out we are.

When you or your husband have a doctor appointment, be sure to bring your daughter along so she can see how things are done at the office and hospital. When you drive past the hospital, point it out and tell her that people go there when they're not feeling good and want to feel better. Sooner or later, she'll associate hospital with "feeling better" and won't be frightened of it. By that age, chances are that she's quite logical already and you'll be able to talk to her more like a youngster instead of a baby. Be honest and tell her that she'll be sleeping while the doctors and nurses are taking care of her, and when she wakes up she'll feel a bit of owwies, but then she'll get better very quickly and everyone will take very good care of her! I've already had one child go through surgery for her tonsils and adenoids and it looks as though we'll be dealing with the youngest daughter going through the same thing soon. I try to be very open and honest with my girls and from what I've seen, it makes a huge difference in how they deal with the experience and not having a fear of hospitals or doctors. Good luck and I hope all goes well with your little one's surgery!

Hi L., I was at 3 out of 4 of my youngest brothers surgeries. There's a 16 year age difference. He had 3 sets of tubes over the years and one surgery for on infection in the ear canal. Your hospital might have a liason (sp) that works with kids coming in for surgery. They did this at the Cleveland Clinic where all of my brother's surgeries were. He started at 21 months with surgeries. We don't know how much he understood since he too had almost no movement at the ear drum due to the amount of fluid. The liason showed him the mask that would be used when he was knocked out and talked about a bit about what would happen. They practiced putting on the mask. They practiced on her 'bear patient' first. Check with the hospital to see if they have this type of program. We let him know how exciting it will be when he can hear more things (don't know if this applies to your daughter) and didn't make a big deal out of it. The Clinic allowed my mom or dad to go in the surgical room until he was knocked out each time but i don't know if smaller hospitals would do that. You can find some good books about going to the hospital/surgery too. And it does help to take a favorite stuffed animal/blanky for when she is in recovery.