What to Expect at Your First Pituitary and Skull Base Surgery Appointment
The purpose of your child’s first visit to the Pituitary and Skull Base Surgery Center is to introduce you to care team members, review your child’s diagnosis and provide treatment recommendations. This visit—called a surgical evaluation—will last between one hour to several hours.
Learning that your child may need treatment for a skull base disorder can be stressful and overwhelming. At the Pituitary and Skull Base Surgery Center, we understand. Our physicians and staff care about your child and your family. They will answer your questions and do all they can to help you and your child feel at ease.
Below is information that explains how to prepare and what to expect at your first appointment.
Making an Appointment
Please contact us to make an appointment.
Our care team will review your child’s medical records and imaging tests before the first visit. This helps us ensure that the program is a good fit for your child. If it is, our program coordinator, Liz Downing, will contact you to schedule the appointment. If your child needs additional tests or medical imaging, she will also work with you to schedule those. These appointments may happen on the same day as your surgical evaluation.
You will meet Liz in person during your visit. She is your “go-to person” for questions and concerns related to your child’s visit, test results, treatment recommendations and appointment scheduling. Please reach out to her any time before, during and after your visit.
Before Your Visit
If you are traveling from another state or country, you may have questions about the area and local accommodations. Contact us if you need assistance.
Before Arriving at the Clinic
Before the appointment, your child may do all activities as usual, including eating normally and taking regular medicines. Your child should wear comfortable clothing. If your child will have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan done on the same day as the clinic visit, they should avoid wearing anything with metal (zippers, metal snaps, jewelry, hair bows, etc.)
Please arrive about 15 minutes before your appointment time. This will allow you to park, find the clinic and check in/register. If you are running late, please contact us.
At the Appointment
Please bring:
- Your health insurance card(s)
- A photo ID, such as a driver's license
- Any medical records that you or the referring physician have not already provided (such as imaging studies on a CD)
Please park in the medical center garage and come to the registration desk at Location A1. Our clinic is on A8.
After you arrive at the clinic, we will take you and your child back to an exam room. A medical assistant will measure your child’s height and weight and take their vital signs. Then a nurse will talk with you about your child’s personal and family health history.
During the appointment, you and your child will meet one or more physicians, depending on your child’s needs. These physicians can include a pediatric neurosurgeon, otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat specialist, or ENT), plastic surgeon and endocrinologist. These doctor(s) will talk with you about:
- Your child’s lab and imaging results
- Your child's diagnosis
- Treatment recommendations
- Next steps which may include additional testing or appointments with other specialists
If your child needs additional labs or advanced imaging, our team can help schedule those quickly and conveniently.
Before you leave the clinic, we’ll provide an “After Visit Summary.” This will include details about your child’s treatment plan, upcoming appointments and a to-do list (if labs or imaging are needed). We will share a summary with your child’s referring physician as well.
Sometimes it takes a week or two for the care team to finalize a child’s treatment plan. This can be because the care team needs to wait on additional test results or consult with other experts at Cincinnati Children’s. If this is the case with your child, we will let you know at your child’s first appointment. We will contact you when the final treatment plan is ready.
After the Appointment
We are here to provide you and your family with the support and information you need. If you have any questions after your appointment, please contact us, or send us a message through your child’s MyChart account.
