Surgeon Interviews
INTERVIEW WITH DR. JENNIFER SHEEHAN - ANESTHESIOLOGIST
TOPIC: MY CHILD IS ON ANTIBIOTICS. SHOULD THEY HAVE SURGERY?
Dr. Sheehan: For an ear infection, the most common reason why young children are on antibiotics, it is usually safe to proceed, as long as they have 24 hours of being on the medication and they no longer have fever, and they are eating and playing, and acting like they feel okay, it is safe to proceed with surgery.
TOPIC: MY CHILD HAS A COLD. SHOULD THEY PROCEED WITH SURGERY?
Dr. Sheehan: It depends on how sick they are. If they are not eating, not playing, and are running a fever, they are too sick for elective surgery and it is not safe to proceed, but if they just have a stuffy nose and some congestion from that, but they are eating, playing, and they don’t have a fever, and their pediatrician has said it is safe to proceed, we will listen to their hearts and lungs and make sure that they are cleared to go to surgery.
TOPIC: CAN I GO BACK WITH MY CHILD TO SURGERY?
Dr. Sheehan: On a case by case basis, we evaluate the best thing to do for your child and the safest thing, and often we find that the parents bring a level of anxiety about the surgery that day that a child isn’t even aware of, they are just thinking about the popsicles afterwards or getting to watch TV all day, and a parent in the OR can transfer that anxiety to their child, and it makes it less than the ideal conditions to start a procedure.
TOPIC: HOW LONG AFTER SURGERY CAN MY CHILD EAT?
Dr. Sheehan: If they are hungry they can eat right away. We like to start with clear liquids, popsicles, a water, apple juice, but if they are able to eat, we recommend starting with crackers or something like soup, but there is no problem with that.