Sometimes children must undergo a form of sedation so that a frightening or painful procedure can be performed with minimal risk. Sedation is used so that the physician can get the best results possible from the procedure or test. You may have heard the term conscious sedation, but that is not an accurate term as the patient is not always conscious during the sedation process.
At Gundersen Lutheran, our organized pediatric sedation program is built around what is best for your child. We will discuss what is going to happen with parents the day before the sedation and can address any questions you may have.
There are varying levels of sedation used on our young patients. The level depends on how invasive or painful a procedure is. Some procedures we commonly use sedation for are urinary catheterizations for X-ray procedures; MRI, CT, or Nuclear Medicine scans; echocardiograms, botox injections for spasticity, etc. Most of the time, sedation is used in the outpatient setting which means that after the procedure, you and your child may go home.
Please plan to spend several hours in the sedation or procedure area. You may be with your child while he/she is being sedated with the exception of when your child is actually in the MRI machine. The sedation nurse uses monitoring equipment to observe your child's heart rate, breathing and oxygen levels during the sedation. Your child will be kept in the sedation area after the procedure until most of the sedation medication has worn off. Please plan to be with your child after sedation until he/she goes to bed for the night as your child may be a bit off balance or out of sorts.