General anesthesia for children going into surgery

Orthopedic Surgeon Thomas Grogan, MD, shares advice for parents on why it is important to talk to the anesthesiologist before your child undergoes surgery and which things you should be sure to discuss with them
What To Tell The Anesthesiologist Before Your Child Undergoes Surgery
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General anesthesia for children going into surgery

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One of the questions that I discuss a lot with parents is if my child needs to undergo surgery, exactly what do I talk to the anesthesiologist about. Understand really what anesthesia is doing is putting the child into a state of unconsciousness. So number one, make sure when you do talk to the anesthesiologist and talk to them before the surgery. And talk to them at a time when it is not stressful, not right in front of the operating room, but make sure that you talk to them the evening before. And simply ask them exactly what your plan is. Tell them everything about your child in terms of healthy and specifically things that you do not think are that important, i.e. my child has an allergy to eggs. As it turns out, some of our anesthetic medications, espeically those we put the child to see with are made from eggs or derived from eggs and can cause allergic reactions. The risk of anesthesia is really, really small, extremely remote in most situations, in most all situations, especially without a family history of anesthetic problems. But it still always helps to be prepared. Make sure you talk to your anesthesiologist. Let them know everything about the child´s allergies and you will have a very successful and uneventful surgery.

Orthopedic Surgeon Thomas Grogan, MD, shares advice for parents on why it is important to talk to the anesthesiologist before your child undergoes surgery and which things you should be sure to discuss with them

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Thomas Grogan, MD

Orthopedic Surgeon

Dr. Grogan is a practicing pediatric orthopedist in Santa Monica, California. He has seen over 40,000 patients in his practice alone. Dr. Grogan graduated cum laude from Princeton University with a degree in Biology and received his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.  Dr. Grogan’s orthopedic training has included an orthopedic residency at UCLA plus several orthopedic fellowships in pediatric orthopedics, trauma, and NIH sponsored joint replacement surgery. Following his orthopedic training he returned to Los Angeles, spending six years at Shriner’s Hospital for Crippled Children, including serving as Assistant Chief in 1996 and 1997. In addition to his clinical practice, he spent several years involved in managed care consulting as an orthopedic surgeon and has developed special expertise in this area. He has collaborated with the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons in the development of a handbook and audiotape entitled, Health Care Reform and Managed Care: A Guidebook for Orthopedic Surgeons. In addition, he has served as the lead faculty member for the AAOS for their 1995, 12 city educational seminar, “Taking Charge: Managed Care Contracting for Orthopaedic Surgeons” and as a faculty member for the AAOS’s 1996 seminar series entitled, “Winning at Risk: The Interplay of Cost, Quality, and Access in Orthopaedic Practice”.  He most recently served as a faculty member for the AAOS’s 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 seminars, “Practice Management Symposium for Practicing Orthopaedic Surgeons’. He is currently chairman of the Practice Management Committee for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and a member of their Council on Education. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, Honor Medical Society, the Sigma XI Scientific Research Society, California Orthopaedic Association (COA), the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA), the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), and is a diplomate of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.

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