What are the risks of putting a two year old under general anesthesia...
I just found out today that my almost two year old, 20 pound, daughter has to have oral surgery to try and save a chipped/rotted tooth and to cap and fill other teeth.
We have always been diligent about brushing her teeth at least once a day and even tried to take her to a dentist but no one in the area would see her until after her 3rd birthday. Apparently she slightly injured her front teeth months ago when she hit her mouth on a table. I noticed slight discoloration but when the pediatrician never mentioned anything wrong I figured it was normal. Then weeks later she hit her right incisor with a heavy cup and chipped it in half. Thats when I decided it definably couldn't be normal.
So today we took her two hours from home to the closest pediatric dentist and they said they would try and save the chipped tooth and then clean and fix all the other damage. Our two options are to keep her awake but strapped to a papoose board while they work for two 45 minute sessions (NO WAY on that one) Or to have her put under general anesthesia and have all the work taken care of at once.
While this is the obvious way to go, I'm still scared and want to know the risks and or other people's experiences in similar situations. Help?
My DD was about 20 months old when she was put under for a couple of tests (MRI and something else) and she did fine. She was also put under last summer for a tonsillectomy just before her 4th birthday - and also did fine. I'd opt for anesthesia - the papoose board & awake sounds horrible to me!
My son was three when he had his surgery. He had his aneoids removed. He did fairly well with it. I feel that they waited too long to come and get me after the surgery because he was up crying for me when I got there. That upset me a little but other then that, it was fine.
My 2 1/2 year old had to be put under for a circumcision revision back in December. He was great except from being sick to his stomache when he woke up, which is normal no matter how old you are. This is what these people do for a living, they know what it best. I know it's a scary thought but it's fine and so much better than her being scared of the dentist from being strapped to a board.
My little brother was about that age when he started going to an awful dentist and now at 15 he needs major work with root canals and everything else from refusing to go. And they still have to give him the gas just to clean them. I say it's better than scaring her for life like that.
Here's a link to some of the risks involved (.pdf file):
Our son has been under more than a half dozen times and has always been fine afterwards. The hospital will tell you all the scary stuff that *could* happen on rare occasions, they do that to cover their butts for liability reasons.
After one of our son's exams under anesthesia he developed a fever and was very flushed. We immediately called the hospital and they had us take him to our local ER to get checked out even though they were pretty certain that it wasn't due to the anesthesia. Turned out to be fifth disease.
Talk with the anesthesiologist about all of your concerns prior to your daughter's procedure.
I can't get Frog's link up on the computer I'm on, but I thought of something - if your DD has any allergy issues, or if any of your relatives have ever had any issues with anesthesia or have any weird allergies, make sure they know ahead of time - my FIL got really really sick after being put under a couple of times, and they found out later it's because of one very minor ingrediend in the anesthesia he was given - it's derived from soemthing he's allergic to. One of DH's grandparents had a bad allergy too to something, but they say it's not a worry anymore due to changes in how anesthesia drugs are made. But we still bring it up every time just in case, and they (hospital people) are always glad we do so they know to watch afterwards.
My youngest has had two major operations and she did well both times with the anesthesia. I agree with everyone that anesthesia is the way to go because you don't want your little one to experience the pain. (The procedure sounds horrible and traumatic.) And of course you're going to be nervous because you're putting the care of your daughter in someone else's hands. I'd talk to your dentist about your concerns and know that they are going to take very good care of your daughter!!
Talk about timing. My daughter who is 21 months old and had tubes removed/put in yesterday. She did very well with the anesthesia, she was upset and confused when she first wake up but an hour later she was just tired--like today, she didn't get sick (I have had surgeries and have gotten very sick--so I was worried about her). They told us that she was going to look red a day or so, it was just the anesthesia leaving through the skin. Now, the girl next to my daughter in the prep/recovery room, was having dental work done, she was around 3. I was surprised that they did that in the hospital. My daughter has to go under again to have a CAT scan done on her ears. I don't like the idea of her going under again, but she will not stay still for that.
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Do you ever let your kids have soda?
- ravenstears
on Mar. 18, 2010 at 11:12 PM