Anesthesia for Heart Surgery
Cardiac anesthesia explanation | Before the heart operation | During the operation | After the operation
What is anesthesia for heart (cardiac) surgery?
The Department of Anesthesia at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center cares for a large number of children with both congenital and acquired heart disease who are undergoing a variety of surgical and interventional procedures. By understanding your child's individual cardiac problems, the anesthesiologist can develop an anesthetic plan that will work best for your child.
Anesthetic care is provided for children undergoing these common procedures:
For information on these procedures and more, please visit Cincinnati Children's Heart Center Encyclopedia.
Before the operation
Before the procedure, you and your child will meet with the anesthesiologist. You will be asked questions about your child's heart history, allergies, medications or other health issues. In particular, it is important to let the anesthesiologist know of any previous problems with anesthesia or recent illnesses.
Before going to sleep for a procedure, most children are sedated with a medication that can be taken by mouth. This helps to relax the child, make the separation process from the parents smoother and often provides amnesia so the child does not remember the experience.
During the operation
In most children, general anesthesia is usually given by having your child breathe anesthetic gas through a mask. In older children, general anesthesia may by given intravenously (IV).
For most procedures, a breathing tube will be placed after your child is asleep, and most children will be on a ventilator during the procedure. The specific anesthetic agents your child receives will depend on your child's heart disease, the procedure performed and whether
sedation and
ventilation will be required after the operation.
After the operation
If a heart-lung bypass machine is used, your child will be kept sedated with a breathing tube in place for a period of time after the procedure. These patients are cared for in the
Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) by a team of physicians and nurses.
During this time, the treatment of pain remains a high priority. Some children are kept on a continuous infusion of pain medicine, while others are given pain medications as needed. In older children, a computerized
Patient-Controlled Analgesic (PCA) pump may be used to help control pain.
Rev. 11/07
