Pre and Post Operative Care
Pre and Post Operative Care
We encourage good communication between you and your child, including the necessity and overview of the procedure as well as ensuring them that you are close by the whole time. Holding them or their hands until they leave for the procedure is a great way to provide support.
You will be given specific instructions along the way but you may need to arrive a few hours before the scheduled procedure to have some blood tests done. When you arrive at the hospital, a doctor will review the procedure and associated risks, after which you will sign a consent form. When we are ready to get started with the procedure, a nurse will place an intravenous line to deliver sedating medications and you will be allowed to accompany your child in the operating room until they are asleep, after which you will be escorted to a waiting room.
What happens after the procedure?
Your child will be taken to a recovery room and in some cases may be admitted to the hospital for observation. Your child might have some mild discomfort; you may give over-the-counter pain medication if permitted by your primary physician.
When can my child bathe?
The bandage must stay dry and in place for 48 hours. You may sponge-bathe your child during this time, as long as the bandage stays dry. After 48 hours you may remove the clear bandage and gauze and your child can take a shower or take a bath, as long as the site isn’t immersed in water. Leave the Steri- Strips® (white strips) in place. Do not immerse the site in water until the Steri-Strips fall off. If they haven’t fallen off after seven days, you may remove them.
Are there any activity restrictions?
Your child may return to normal activity as tolerated.
CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY IF YOUR CHILD EXPERIENCES ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:
- Redness, pain, swelling, or bruising at the needle insertion site.
- Fever higher than 101o Fahrenheit or 38o Celsius.
- A change in color or temperature to the associated extremity.
- Numbness, swelling, or pain of the associated extremity.
The department of Interventional Radiology can be reached at: 202-476-3791, Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
At all other times please call 202-259-8643, which is the on-call pager. Follow the instructions and wait for a call back.
Departments
Departments
Children’s National interventional radiologists perform a full range of minimally invasive, image-guided procedures to both diagnose and treat disease in infants, children, and adolescents.