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Eating and drinking guidelines

Before a surgery/procedure, eating and drinking are not allowed for certain periods of time. Follow these directions carefully to prepare your child. If your child eats or drinks after the indicated time, the surgery/procedure may be canceled.

Staying healthy

It is important that your child is healthy prior to surgery.

If your child develops an upper or lower respiratory illness, pneumonia, asthma, croup, or COVID-19 within four to six weeks of scheduled surgery, please notify your surgeon’s office.

If your child has been exposed to measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, or COVID-19 in the 21 days before surgery, please notify us as soon as you become aware of the exposure. Your child's surgery may need to be rescheduled so that other children are not at risk of catching these illnesses.

Special considerations

  • Herbal remedies: If your child is taking (or may have recently taken) any herbal therapy or natural remedy (such as St. John's Wort) or any weight-reduction medications, please notify your surgical team. Some of these herbs and medications can interact with drugs used during surgery or may affect the body’s blood clotting abilities.
  • Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAID): If your child takes a medication that is classified as a NSAID (i.e. ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin), please notify your surgeon in advance of surgery to determine whether this medication should be continued or held for a length of time prior surgery. The surgeon may need to consult with the prescribing provider (i.e. cardiologist) to develop a plan.
  • Piercings: If your child has any body piercing that cannot be seen, please let the day surgery nursing team know. All metallic objects must be removed prior to surgery and anesthesia.
  • Vaping/smoking: Vaping and smoking can increase your risk of perioperative respiratory complications. Please discontinue smoking and/or vaping for as long as possible prior to surgery, at minimum two weeks. Please also discontinue any other non-prescribed drug use.