Surgeries are always performed under anesthesia or sedation so that your child will feel nothing of the procedure. The operating rooms are in Wilhelmina Children's Hospital. Interventions under sedation are often performed in the Máxima Center's sedation room.
Beforehand
At the POS clinic (pre-operative screening clinic) you meet with the anesthesiologist or an anesthesia assistant. They explain the anesthesia or the sedation procedure. They also tell you how many hours before surgery your child may not eat and drink.
Depending on the type of operation, your child is admitted the day before surgery or on the day itself. If your child already has a portacath or a line, it is connected up and sometimes blood is drawn. The medical pedagogical care provider prepares your child and explains what is about to happen.
The intervention
Shortly before surgery, your child is put in a surgical gown and wheeled in bed via the connecting bridge to the operating room. One parent is allowed in the operating room, as is the medical pedagogical care provider.
Patches are affixed to your child's chest to monitor their heartbeat. A small red light is clamped on a finger or toe to measure oxygen levels in the blood. Once the anesthesiologist has put your child under, you can wait outside the operating room. The anesthesiologist keeps a close eye on your child during surgery. After the operation is finished, you may rejoin your child in the recovery room.
Afterward
Your child will gradually wake up in the recovery room in your presence. Your child may still be drowsy or nauseous and might have a sore throat due to the tube that was inserted during surgery. This discomfort usually does not last long. Once fully awake, your child may have something to eat and drink. The nurse will tell you when you and your child may return to your own room. Some operations require that your child be monitored in intensive care after surgery. You are usually informed of this prior to the surgery.