What to Expect for Your Child's Procedure

• Main building, 2nd floor, Radiology Registration
• Main building, 2nd floor, Surgical Registration

Feeding Instructions: 

• Your child may not have solid food, milk, gum or mints beginning seven hours prior to the arrival.
• Your child may have clear liquids until one hour prior to arrival. After that, your child cannot have anything to eat or drink. Clear liquids include: water, apple juice, Gatorade®, Pedialyte, Jell-O, and Italian Ice (as long as there are no fruit or fruit pieces).

Specific feeding and arrival times will be relayed to you directly from a pre-op nurse within 72 hours of your procedure.

We encourage good communication between you and your child, including the necessity and overview of the procedure, as well as ensuring them that you are close by the whole time. Holding them or their hands until they leave for the procedure is a great way to provide support.

You will be given specific instructions, but you may need to arrive a few hours before the scheduled procedure to have some blood tests done. When you arrive at the hospital, a doctor will review the procedure and associated risks, after which you will sign a consent form. When we are ready to get started with the procedure, a nurse will place an intravenous line to deliver sedating medications and you will be escorted to the waiting room for the duration of the procedure.

Here is what will happen on the day of the procedure if your child is not undergoing anesthesia:

• Check in at the Radiology front desk, and an Interventional Radiology staff member will bring you and your child to the procedure area.
• You will put on a hat, mask and lead apron on for safety.
• You and your child will be escorted into the procedure room
• You may help get your child comfortable on the bed. You will stand or sit next to your child's head so they can see and hear you. You may be asked to hold your child's hands above their head.
• This is to keep the hands away from the sterile area of the procedure. If you are uncomfortable with this, please tell the nurse.
• We will place a seatbelt around your child. This allows us to keep your child safe during the procedure.
• There will be several staff members in the room including the physician, nurse and technologist. The team will spend a few minutes setting up. This is an opportunity for you and your child to begin coping strategies such as distracting, talking, singing and deep breathing.
• Your child may become upset during the procedure. This is normal for many children, no matter how old they are, and does not reflect your ability to comfort your child. You are helping your child by being there.
• If, at any time, you feel uncomfortable and need to sit down or leave the room, please tell a staff member.

After the procedure:

A staff member will be available to answer any medical questions and there is more information listed under the information about the procedure.

Here is what will happen on the day of the procedure if your child is undergoing anesthesia:

• Check in at the surgical front desk, and a staff member will bring you and your child to the pre-operative area.
• You will speak with the pre-op nurse, anesthesiologist, procedure nurse and the interventional radiologist. 
• Your child will be escorted into the procedure room and you will be led to the waiting area.
• Your child will undergo the procedure, and then be brought to the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU).
• We will bring you back to be with your child when it is safe.