In simple terms, an anesthesiologist administers medication prior to surgery that causes your child to fall asleep and then continues to introduce the precise amount of medication needed to maintain that peaceful state.

During sleep, your child will be unaware of what’s going on and upon awakening will not remember anything that happened during sleep. As surgery proceeds, the anesthesiologist remains with your child and monitors all her body’s systems, keeping open a clear line of communication with the surgical team.

For some young patients, we choose the breathing-mask option as many children (and adults, too!) do better with this method. If your child is comfortable with it, we may choose an injectible anesthetic. Either way, we use only those medications and procedures with excellent records of safety and reliability.

We also deliver anesthesia for children with cancer and other conditions during radiation therapy and for a variety of procedures for which kids need a little extra relaxation and reassurance.