Pediatric surgery

At Medical City Healthcare, we provide compassionate pediatric surgical care for children. This type of care involves a team of pediatric experts from several surgical and medical disciplines.

We coordinate across several subspecialties, including cardiology, oncology, pathology, hematology, radiology, anesthesiology and any others your child may need. With highly skilled doctors and state-of-the-art facilities equipped with the latest technology, we ensure each child receives exceptional pediatric care.

Hospitals that perform pediatric surgery in the Medical City Healthcare network include:

• Medical City Children's Hospital
• Medical City Frisco
• Medical City Lewisville
• Medical City McKinney
• Medical City North Hills

Specialty surgeons in our network provide a wide range of pediatric surgeries. These include:

• Bariatric surgery
• Back and spine surgery, including scoliosis surgery
• Cardiovascular surgery, including congenital heart surgery
• Craniofacial surgery
• Ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgery
• Gastrointestinal surgery
• General surgery
• Neurosurgery
• Orthopedic surgery
• Oncological surgery
• Urologic surgery, including hypospadias surgery

Children are better prepared to handle hospital visits and surgery when they understand what is going on. Prepare your child for their procedure by discussing it in simple terms. It is important to answer any questions your child may have openly and honestly.

A child life specialist is available at no additional cost to help you prepare your child for their procedure. A child life specialist is an expert in child development, specifically trained to decrease the negative impact a hospital visit may have on a child through preparation, distraction, normalization, and play.

Child life specialists may incorporate hands-on play materials and actual medical equipment to help children understand what to expect. To speak to a child life specialist, call the child life department at (972) 566-2879.

Preparation for surgery includes fasting for a number of hours because anesthesia stops the body's natural reflexes, and, if the stomach isn't empty, it may result in food or acid entering the lungs.

If the anesthesiologist or doctor gives you different eating or drinking instructions, follow their instructions. These guidelines are for the safety of your child, and, if not followed, your child’s procedure could be postponed or canceled.

Here are some general rules your doctor may provide before your child's surgery:

• No solid foods for the eight hours before surgery (this includes gum, candy, thickened liquids and rice cereal)
• No milk or formula for six hours before surgery
• No breast milk for four hours before surgery
• Your child may have clear liquids until three hours before surgery (this includes water, apple juice, lemon-lime soda, electrolyte solutions or popsicles)

You will receive a phone call from the anesthesiologist the night before surgery. A plan for your child will be determined and explained to you. If they are unable to call or reach you, anesthesiologists are available before surgery to answer any questions you may have.

Depending on age and need, we provide medication we refer to as "goofy juice" for your child to drink before surgery to help ease separation anxiety.

When the surgery is done, the surgeon will come to the waiting room and speak with you. The recovery room nurse will then escort you back to the recovery room after your child has awakened from anesthesia and is settled.

Discharge from the hospital depends on the nature of your child’s procedure and the doctor’s orders. Patients must be able to tolerate clear liquids, be alert and have effective pain control prior to discharge. The surgical team will provide instructions for after-surgery care.

If you have any questions about your child's procedure, call your child’s pediatrician.