Your child’s operation will be assigned a time slot on the day of surgery, and you will be asked to arrive some time before then to get checked in. You will be given the arrival time for the day of surgery by our office. The surgical facility may call and give you an arrival time as well. If you get conflicting information from our office and the surgical facility, please call our office immediately for clarification. If you are called by the surgical facility on the day of surgery, it is usually because there has been a cancellation and you are being asked to report ahead of schedule. If this occurs, ask for the new arrival time and follow the instructions below. If there is any confusion, do not allow your child to eat or drink anything without calling the anesthesiologist at the surgical facility.

Because of the risk of vomiting before, during and after surgery, anesthesiologists have specific guidelines as to what and when a child may eat or drink prior to surgery. These guidelines are based on your child’s age, and they are listed below.

  • YOUR CHILD MAY HAVE WHATEVER HE OR SHE DESIRES UNTIL MIDNIGHT THE NIGHT BEFORE SURGERY UNLESS OTHERWISE DIRECTED.
  • DO NOT FEED YOUR CHILD ANY FOOD, MILK OR FORMULA, OR LIQUIDS OTHER THAN WATER, APPLE JUICE, OR PEDIALYTE ON THE DAY OF SURGERY.
  • ON THE DAY OF SURGERY, PLEASE FOLLOW THESE GUIDELINES FOR BREAST MILK, WATER, APPLE JUICE, OR PEDIALYTE:
  • Your child may have breast milk until six hours prior to your scheduled arrival time.
  • Your child may have clear liquids until two hours prior to your scheduled arrival time. Clear liquids are any liquid that you can see through and which do not contain any particulates. To be safe, we recommend water, apple juice, and Pedialyte as the only acceptable clear liquids on the day of surgery.
  • REMEMBER, YOUR CHILD MAY NOT UNDERSTAND WHY HE OR SHE IS NOT ALLOWED TO EAT OR DRINK ON THE DAY OF SURGERY, AND HE OR SHE MAY TRY TO SNEAK A MEAL. PLEASE BE VIGILANT FOR YOUR CHILD’S SAFETY.

If you have any questions about these instructions, please call our office at 859/275-KIDS (5437). If your child is taking medications, these can be safely taken with a sip of water. Please let us know if your child is on any blood thinners (i.e. coumadin), aspirin, Motrin, or Motrin-like anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDS) two weeks prior to surgery.

If Your Child Develops a Rash Before Surgery

The most common reason we have to cancel surgery on the day of the operation is a rash involving the site of the surgical incision. This is usually due to a yeast diaper rash. An active yeast infection inside the diaper will preclude surgery in the area. Yeast infections typically include red spots around the border of a more confluent area of redness. A typical story is that a child receives a course of antibiotics within one week of surgery for an upper respiratory illness and then develops a yeast infection. If your child is given a new prescription of antibiotics just before surgery please let us know, as we may want to treat your child to prevent a yeast infection.