What to Expect at Your First Appointment at the Pre-Anesthesia Consult Clinic

If your child needs anesthesia before a procedure at Cincinnati Children's, they may feel lots of anxiety. Our primary goal is to make sure your child is safe, and so we created the Pre-Anesthesia Consult Clinic to answer your family's questions and help children with especially complex medical needs. Discussing your concerns in advance helps ensure the surgery goes smoothly and your child has the best outcome.

Making an Appointment at the Pre-Anesthesia Consult Clinic

Not every child who requires anesthesia will need to make an appointment at the Pre-Anesthesia Consult Clinic. You can talk with your doctor and/or surgeon to find out if your child needs the consult because of their medical history, need for complex surgery or anxiety about anesthesia. We will determine whether we can address your concern with a simple phone call or if a clinic appointment is more appropriate.

If a consult is needed, someone from centralized scheduling will contact your family. We would like to see you and your child one to two weeks before your child's procedure.

Before Your Appointment

The Pre-Anesthesia Consult Clinic will call you before your appointment only if we need additional medical records or details about your child's health history.

On the Day of Your Visit to the Pre-Anesthesia Consult Clinic

Arriving At Your Appointment

The Pre-Anesthesia Consult Clinic is located at the Burnet Campus of Cincinnati Children’s. Please bring any medical records we requested that haven’t already been provided to us.

Please arrive about 30 minutes ahead of time. This allows you 15 minutes to park and walk from the parking garage to our clinic, and 15 minutes to check in at our front desk. If you're running late, please contact us.

At Your Appointment

Your appointment at the Pre-Anesthesia Consult Clinic will last about an hour. During this time, an anesthesiologist and anesthesia nurse practitioner will review your child's medical conditions and discuss important issues, including the anesthesia plan for the day of your child's procedure. They also will answer any questions your child may have, and talk about how your child's providers can make the day of the procedure less stressful. One option, for example, is bringing in a Child Life specialist who can calm your child's anxiety.

After Your Visit to the Pre-Anesthesia Consult Clinic

If you have any questions after your child's consult, you can call our clinic and ask to speak to the nurse practitioner who completed the consult. The referring provider will receive a summary of the visit.