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Pediatric anesthesia caters specifically to the administration by anesthesia for newborns, infants, toddlers, and children. Children are no adults. All ages of children have unique anatomy and physiology, which varies significantly from the anatomy and physiology of an adult. These differences translate into a need for meticulous administration of anesthesia. Many challenges alone arise from the fact that children tend not to be cooperative, simply because they lack the understanding of what is going on with them. There is a specialty training to become a board certified pediatric anesthesiologist, which is called a pediatric anesthesia fellowship. Keep in mind that many excellent pediatric anesthesiologists are board certified in anesthesia, but not in pediatric anesthesia. If you have any questions or concerns as a parent, you should never hesitate to have a conversation with your child’s anesthesiologist. Children of all ages undergo anesthesia safely, and without any problems. Improved medications and monitoring systems make anesthesia very safe for children. As a parent, in order for your anesthesiologist to safely administer anesthesia, all information pertaining to the child should be shared. This includes information about allergies, medical, and surgical history, vaccine status, underlying genetic disorders that may affect family members and information about the child’s current overall health status should all be shared. Sniffles in an adult might not be contraindication for planned anesthetic. However, in infant, it might be a contraindication. In other words, no information is ever too little not to share.
