Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesiology

Children born with heart disease often have complex anatomy and physiology, which is why our cardiac team includes specialists in pediatric cardiac anesthesiology. Our specially trained anesthesiologists are dedicated to pediatric patients in the Heart Institute.

Because our team has extensive training in pediatrics, cardiology and anesthesiology, we provide continuity of cardiac care while keeping kids comfortable during heart surgeries and tests. Our team is also trained in adult cardiac anesthesia to care for patients with adult congenital heart disease.

Pediatric cardiac anesthesiology is on-call 24/7

Your child may need an expert in pediatric cardiac anesthesiology any time they are having a painful procedure or need to stay very still for detailed heart tests. Our anesthesia team provides services for:

• Cardiac surgery
• Non-cardiac surgery in patients with complex heart disease
• Cardiac catheterization
• CT scan and cardiac MRI
• Cardiac echocardiogram (ECHO) under sedation

Close monitoring before, during and after anesthesia

Our team’s primary role is to administer anesthetics to ensure your child is asleep, feels no pain, and has no awareness or memory of the surgery, procedure or test. While your child is under anesthesia, our team is carefully and constantly monitoring important body functions such as blood pressure, temperature, and more – all while paying special attention to the heart. We are with your child before, during and after surgery to monitor the medication and eventually help him "wake up." 

Kid-friendly care to help ease the nerves

We specialize in delivering compassionate care while making your child as comfortable as possible. For example, because needles can make kids feel nervous or scared, we often give children a sedative before general anesthesia so that needles aren’t used until they are asleep. This helps children feel more comfortable and can be safer for kids who have a hard time remaining calm and still around needles.

Anesthesia guidelines for parents

You can help us provide a safe anesthetic for your child by following some very important fasting guidelines. Download our fasting guidelines in English for before surgery or sedation (.pdf)

Download the fasting guidelines en Español (.pdf)