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Having Surgery at Children's
Scheduling the Operation
After the referral is received, please allow one business week for the surgical scheduling coordinator to contact you to set a date for surgery. If you are not contacted within one week, please call your surgeon’s office.
These steps must also be taken before a surgical date can be set:
- If you are not the natural parents or legally adoptive parents, you must provide proof of legal guardianship to the surgical scheduling coordinator before surgery can be scheduled.
- Any consultations or tests requested by your child’s surgeon, such as seeing a neurologist or having a CT scan, need to be completed and the results faxed to your surgeon’s surgical scheduling coordinator.
- Self-pay patients must make arrangements with Children’s Financial Information Center by calling (202) 476-5547.
Physical Exam
Your surgeon will let you know if you are required to obtain a history and physical exam by your primary care physician. If so, when the surgery date is set, schedule a pre-surgical physical to be completed approximately 7-14 days before surgery. Any lab work that may be necessary should be done at that time. The day the physical is done, your primary care physician should fax the “Outpatient History and
Physical” form to your surgeon’s surgical scheduling coordinator. Call the surgical scheduling coordinator to confirm that the form has been received.
Important: you should keep the original and bring it with you on the day of surgery.
Lab Work
Your child’s surgeon may request certain lab tests be done. Results must be faxed to the surgical scheduling coordinator at least one week before the surgery. Tests may be done by:
- The primary care physician at the time of the pre-operative physical
- The Clinical Lab at Children’s National Medical Center (if your insurance allows)
- An insurance-contracted lab
The Clinical Lab at Children’s National is open:
Monday-Friday, 7 am - 6 pm
Saturday-Sunday, 10 am - 2 pm
Call (202) 476-5354 to schedule an appointment.
Online Guide
Children’s National has a program called Emmi, an online interactive educational program that can be viewed from any computer with Internet access. It is user friendly and will walk you through what to expect before, during, and after your child’s procedure. In the pocket of your information packet provided, you will find instructions for viewing the Emmi program. If you have provided an email address, instructions will be emailed to you. If you feel it is appropriate, you can share it with your child.
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If these guidelines are not followed, your child’s surgery will be delayed or cancelled. We appreciate your attention to these important guidelines.
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Eating and Drinking Before Surgery
It is very important to carefully follow the eating and drinking guidelines in order to prevent your child’s operation from being delayed or canceled. To decrease the risk of complications associated with vomiting, your child’s stomach must be empty before surgery.
At midnight the evening before surgery, stop giving your child solid food, including:
- Any solid food
- Formula (breast-feeding can continue longer)
- Juice with pulp (such as orange juice)
- Milk or milk products
- Hot or cold cereal
- Pudding
- Chewing gum
- Candy or mints
If your child is breast-fed, you may continue to breast-feed until four hours before the scheduled surgery time.
Your child may have clear liquids until four hours before the surgery time. Clear liquids include apple juice, water, JELL-O, popsicles, sports drinks (like Gatorade), and clear broth.
To recap, here are the guidelines about eating and drinking before surgery:
- No solids, milk, or formula after midnight.
- No chewing gum or candy (including breath mints) after midnight, as these are considered solid food.
- No clear liquids (sugar water, apple juice, etc.) or breast milk within four hours prior to surgery.
- Prescribed tablets, capsules, or liquid medications should be taken with a sip of water at usual time, but before leaving home. If your child has difficulty taking oral medicine this way, please discuss this with the pre-op nurse at the time of the pre-operative call.
Special note:
While we would never advise their use, on the day of surgery do not smoke, drink alcohol, or use recreational drugs. These can cause your surgery to be unsafe and cancelled.
Blood Donations and Transfusions
Children’s National offers a Directed Donor Program, which allows family members or friends to donate blood to be used during the patient’s hospital stay and/or for procedures. There is no evidence that blood from directed donors is safer than from regular volunteer donors, but this service is frequently requested by many parents and therefore we offer such a program.
Some patients may donate for themselves for elective surgeries through the Autologous Donation Program. The child must be healthy, cooperative, not be anemic, and be at least 10 years old. Small children can’t be their own donors. Ask your physician for more information about both kinds of blood donation.
Religious Considerations
Some families hold religious beliefs which preclude their acceptance of whole blood and, sometimes, other blood products. Children’s National is committed to the care of all its patients, regardless of their religious beliefs. If you have a religious objection to the use of blood transfusions for your child, please discuss this with your surgeon well in advance of surgery.
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