Find out what happens when your child enters the operating room to when they are moved into their room. A guide for what your child can expect during scoliosis surgery.
Key points
Each surgery is performed by an interprofessional team, which include the orthopaedic surgeon and their team, an anaesthetist, a neurophysiologist and operating room nurses.
During surgery, your child’s blood pressure, heart rate and oxygenation levels will be closely monitored.
Your child’s spinal cord function will be monitored in real time with neuromonitoring probes throughout the duration of the surgery.
A large bandage will be placed on your child's back after surgery and they will be moved into the recovery room for close monitoring. You may visit your child in the recovery room.
Most children do not experience complications after scoliosis surgery.
Introduction
During scoliosis surgery, your child will be under anaesthesia and will be looked after by an interprofessional team of health-care professionals, including the orthopaedic surgeon and their team, an anaesthetist, a neurophysiologist and operating nurses.
Procedure
In the operating room
In the operating room, the nurse will help your child settle in. The anaesthetist will give your child sedating medicine. Your child can choose to receive the sedating medicine through a needle or a flavoured mask. The medicine will not wear off during the surgery so your child will not wake up until the surgery is completed. The anaesthetist will give your child medicine to reverse the anaesthesia when the surgery is over.
To safely monitor your child during the surgery, an arterial line , will be used to monitor your child’s blood pressure, and monitoring stickers and probes will be used to monitor your child’s heart rate and oxygenation levels. The nurses will also insert a tube into your child’s bladder called a Foley catheter, as it will be difficult for your child to get to the toilet/urinate after the surgery. The neurophysiologist will attach many small probes along your child’s body. These probes will monitor your child’s spinal cord function in real time during the surgery to help the surgeon safely perform the surgery. Your child’s surgeon may also place a drain in their back before closing the surgical wound. This drain will be removed two to three days after the surgery.
Here is an animation series to show what happens during surgery.
After the procedure
After the surgery
When the surgery is complete, a large bandage will be placed on your child’s back. The anaesthetist will reverse the anaesthesia, and your child will wake up. Your child will be moved from the operating room to the recovery room. They may lie in any position that is comfortable.
Once you child is in the recovery room, you may visit them there.
Complications
Will there be complications?
Most children do not have any complications after scoliosis surgery. However, it is important to know that complications are possible and that they may affect your child’s surgery experience.
If your child has a complication from surgery, it may affect their experience in different ways. They may have more pain or need more surgery. Their hospital stay may be longer than usual, or they may need to take more medication for a longer period of time. Your child’s surgeon will outline the potential risks of scoliosis surgery when you sign the surgical consent form.
For more information about surgical procedures at SickKids, please see Coming for surgery. For information about eating and drinking before surgery, please see the NPO Guidelines.