Perioperative Care

Abstract

Nurses play an important role in mitigating the stress of surgery for the child and family as well as in ensuring the safety of the patient throughout the perioperative process. This chapter discusses care of the child and family throughout the perioperative process and uses pictures for illustration. Patient/family education, psychological preparation of the child to reduce anxiety and fear, preoperative assessment, radiographs and laboratory tests required, dietary restrictions, and separation from the parents are addressed preoperatively. Intraoperative nursing care followed by postoperative management in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) is also included. Pain management, postoperative assessment, discharge criteria from the PACU, and parental presence in the PACU are presented using a case study as an example of the perioperative process.

Whether a child is having a minor outpatient surgery, scheduled inpatient surgery, or an emergent lifesaving procedure, it is an extraordinary stressor for the child and family (Wollin et al. J Pediatr Nurs 19:128–132, 2004). Nurses play an important role in mitigating this stress for the child and family as well as in ensuring the safety of the patient throughout the perioperative process. Perioperative care of the pediatric patient includes providing preoperative information and guidance to the family, the physical assessment and preparation of the patient prior to surgery, the care of the patient in the operating room (OR), and the care of the patient after surgery in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU).