Anesthesiology
Anesthesiology
A Center of Excellence in pediatric sedation, dedicated to your child’s safety and comfort
The doctors and nurses on the anesthesiology team at Seattle Children’s provide safe, high-quality care to block pain and make your child less aware during surgeries and tests.
We are specially trained to give and to children. Our team cares for children of all ages, from newborns to young adults, for any health problem and any procedure where they need anesthesia.
Why choose Seattle Children’s for anesthesiology?
- Being named a Center of Excellence in Pediatric Sedation by the Society for Pediatric Sedation reflects our commitment to safe, high-quality sedation care that supports the best possible experience for your child.
- Our team is very experienced in deciding the type and level of sedation that are right for your child. We care for children, teens and young adults.
- We partner with doctors in many other departments to help plan and carry out complex surgeries. These include our cancer, craniofacial, heart and transplant centers.
- We work with patients and families at Seattle Children’s hospital campus and Bellevue Clinic and Surgery Center, as well as Radiation Oncology Services at the University of Washington Medical Center.
Services We Offer
Our Anesthesiology team provides the level of sedation and pain control that’s right for your child.
Safety first: Pre-Anesthesia Surgical Service
Our Pre-Anesthesia Surgical Service (PASS) helps to prepare children and their families for anesthesia. The PASS team first reviews your child’s health history. If your child’s current conditions could increase their risk for problems with anesthesia, we will contact you to set up a visit. The purpose is to find out more about your child’s medical problems and how well they are doing now. We may meet with you via telephone, telehealth (video visit) or in person at our clinic. This visit will help us decide if your child needs additional tests or consults before their procedure.
A parent or legal guardian who knows your child’s health history needs to attend the visit.
The PASS team will give you information about anesthesia for your child’s procedure and instructions for the day of surgery.
Learn more about the Pre-Anesthesia Surgical Service (PDF).
General anesthesia for surgery, radiology tests and oncology therapies
General anesthesia is medicine that puts your child fully asleep until after their procedure is done. They will not feel any sensation or pain and will wake up with no memory of the procedure. Your child may get the anesthesia medicine through a tube that goes into a vein (called IV or intravenous) and/or by breathing in gas. Because the muscles of the throat relax, a tube may be placed in their throat to keep their airway open.
Most children get general anesthesia when they are having surgery. Learn more about Your Child’s Surgery and about General Anesthesia and Your Child (PDF) (Spanish).
We also give general anesthesia for imaging or procedures that take a long time or require a child to be very still to get good results. Children who are young or have developmental challenges or anxiety might need anesthesia if they are having an , dental care, or other cancer treatments.
Learn more about Anesthesia for Radiology Tests (PDF) (Spanish).
Regional anesthesia
is a way to give pain medicine directly to a body part in order to block feeling. We inject numbing medicine (local anesthetic) near nerves that provide feeling to the surgical area. Regional anesthesia is often called a “nerve block” because it temporarily stops the nerves from sending pain messages to the brain. Most often, it is combined with a general anesthetic and is given after your child is safely asleep for surgery.
We have a team of dedicated anesthesiologists who specialize in regional anesthesia. We are committed to working with you and your surgeon to provide a thoughtful, effective and safe pain plan for your child and family.
Adding regional anesthesia medicine along with general anesthesia helps reduce pain during and after the procedure. These medicines also reduce side effects like nausea, constipation and drowsiness that result from traditional pain medicine (morphine or oxycodone) taken by mouth. They help your child move and feel better sooner after surgery so they can heal faster. Learn more about regional anesthesia (PDF) (Russian) (Spanish).
Regional anesthesia can be given as a single injection or through a small tube (catheter) put under the skin. We use different nerve blocks for pain control depending on the surgery and your child’s needs.
analgesia is pain medicine given around the spinal nerves in the space outside your child’s . We use this method to block pain in the chest, abdomen, pelvis or legs. It also may be used to treat some cancer pain. Most often, an epidural tube (catheter) is left in place and taped to your child’s back for 3 to 6 days after surgery to help with pain management. Patients must be in the hospital to have epidural analgesia. Read more about epidural catheters (PDF).
A peripheral nerve block puts the numbing medicine near a group of nerves at a body site away from the spinal column. This method is often used for procedures in the leg or arm. The nerve block may be given as a single injection (which lasts less than 24 hours). In other cases, we place a tiny tube (catheter) next to the nerves that provide feeling to the surgery area. The tube can be left in place for up to 3 days. Patients can safely go home with this peripheral nerve catheter and remove it easily themselves. Learn more about peripheral nerve catheters (PDF) (Arabic) (Spanish).
Moderate sedation
In this type of pain control, we give your child smaller doses of pain medicine and a medicine (sedative) to help them feel calm and sleepy, but not fully asleep, during certain procedures or tests. Your child can still hear, respond and breathe on their own. Our Mobile Anesthesia Sedation Team (MAST) can give your child this type of sedation in outpatient clinics, the Radiology Department and at the bedside. Patients do not need to be in the operating room.
We give moderate sedation using medicines that are inhaled (laughing gas), swallowed by mouth, sprayed in the nose or infused into a vein (IV). How your child receives moderate sedation will be based on their needs and the type of test or procedure.
Pain control after surgery
Managing pain after surgery is important for your child’s rest, movement and overall healing. For the best results, we combine different methods such as pain medicines, numbing cream before needle pokes, regional anesthesia and . This is called multimodal pain management.
You know your child best. We partner with you and your child to prevent and relieve pain as completely as possible. We encourage you to take an active role in your child’s recovery. Let the nurses and doctors know if your child is in pain or has side effects to medications, like nausea or drowsiness. After a surgery, it is common to get pain medicine into a vein (IV) until your child can take medicine by mouth.
A peripheral nerve catheter (PDF) (Arabic) (Spanish) is a type of used as part of your child’s overall pain management plan for 1 to 3 days after surgery. Your child will wake up from surgery with a small tube inserted under their skin near a nerve that carries pain signals. It delivers a steady flow of numbing medicines (local anesthetics). Some children go home from the hospital with a peripheral nerve catheter. It is safe and can be easily removed at home.
Watch videos about going home with a peripheral nerve catheter and how to care for it.
While recovering in the hospital after surgery, some children have a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump that lets them push a button to get a preset amount of pain medicine into their line. Most often this method is used when your child is unable to eat or is not tolerating oral pain medicines.
The dose depends on your child’s weight and health. The pump has safety features to prevent children from getting too much medicine. Based on how much your child pushes the button and their pain relief, your child’s doctors can change the dose or time between doses to better control your child’s pain.
Medicines given by PCA are . They work by blocking the pain message before it travels to the brain. One example is morphine.
Learn more patient-controlled analgesia (PDF).