Pediatrics

Anesthesiology

When your child is preparing for surgery, minimally invasive procedures, certain imaging tests, or needs pain management, you and your child may be anxious. At the Children's Hospital of New York, our pediatric anesthesiologists are specially trained in the care and unique needs of pediatric patients of all ages, from infants to children to young adults.

We are committed to providing the highest quality care for children needing anesthesia, enhancing their comfort, and minimizing anxiety. We skillfully customize your child’s anesthesia to their individualized needs to ensure the best outcomes and an experience that is as smooth as possible.

About Our Program

At the Children's Hospital of New York, our, our specially-trained and board-certified pediatric anesthesiologists understand how children differ anatomically and metabolically from adults. We use the most advanced techniques and equipment to reduce pain and discomfort in young people undergoing all types of surgery and procedures.

Pediatric anesthesiologists at the Children's Hospital of New York have extensive experience providing anesthesia for the full spectrum of pediatric surgical care, including

General surgery
Urology
Burn surgery
Otorhinolaryngology (ENT)
Plastic surgery
Neurosurgery
Cardiac surgery
Ophthalmology
Non-surgical procedures that require the care of a pediatric anesthesiologist.

At NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, pediatric anesthesiologists are fully dedicated to only pediatric anesthesia practice and are board certified in the sub-specialty of pediatric anesthesiologist. Pediatric anesthesiologists also oversee the care of many children having heart, liver, kidney, and small bowel transplantation, as well as spine surgery. These surgeries often are performed on children with complex medical conditions.

A very active and highly specialized neonatal intensive care unit at both children’s hospitals receives neonates with various surgical conditions. In addition to the operating rooms, the division provides care for children requiring non-surgical procedures in the diagnostic and interventional imaging suite and the pediatric endoscopy suite.

The Children's Hospital of New York also has a dedicated pediatric pain management program that provides a multimodal approach to managing acute perioperative pain and pain conditions associated with chronic diseases and other complex surgical/medical conditions.

Our pediatric anesthesiologists are integral members of your child’s healthcare team. Before every procedure, they consult closely with your child’s pediatrician, surgeon, and other subspecialists to customize a plan of care. Our pediatric anesthesiologists are available on-site and around the clock to relieve the pain and discomfort of infants, children, and adolescents in our care.

Anesthesia

The type of anesthesia your child will receive is customized to their age, underlying medical conditions, procedural type, and unique needs. Types of anesthesia include:

Local anesthesia: These agents temporarily stop the sense of pain in only a particular area of the body while your child remains conscious. We usually use this type of anesthesia for minor surgeries.
Regional anesthesia: With regional anesthesia, we numb only the portion of the body where the surgery will be done. Regional anesthetics include a spinal anesthetic, a single dose of the anesthetic medication into the lower back to numb the lower body before lower abdominal, pelvic, rectal, or leg surgery, and continuous spinal anesthesia (“epidural”). We commonly use epidurals for prolonged surgeries, often involving the legs. In cases where we use an epidural for chest surgery, we inject the anesthetic higher up in the back to numb the chest and abdominal areas.
General anesthesia: We use general anesthesia to induce unconsciousness during surgery, and we give it via inhalation.

Our Approach to Care

Always Available

Our pediatric anesthesiologists are available on-site and around the clock to relieve the pain and discomfort of infants, children, and adolescents in our care.

A Multidisciplinary Team Approach

Our pediatric anesthesiologists collaborate with surgeons, specialists, and all of the other pediatric healthcare staff to optimize care during the hospital stay, whether it is a same-day procedure or inpatient admission. Additionally, there is a dedicated staff of child-life professionals who work with the children and families pre-operatively to allay their fears and answer questions.

Family-Friendly Environment

At the Children's Hospital of New York, we provide family-centered care and believe parents are key players in the surgical process. We ensure that parents are with their children in the recovery room immediately after surgery/anesthesia to comfort and reassure their children as they wake up.

Parents As Team Members

As a parent, only you can provide important information about your child. You can also help other team members shape your child’s personalized treatment program based on your child’s physical, emotional, and practical needs. Your input is critical for making final decisions regarding your child’s care, and our multidisciplinary team is here to work alongside you and your family to achieve the greatest possible outcomes for your child.

Why Choose Us

Nationally Ranked Children’s Hospitals

The Children's Hospital of New York is among the nation's leading centers for diagnosing and treating childhood diseases. They are major referral centers for complex and rare disorders in infants, children, and adolescents.

Exceptional Expertise

Our pediatric anesthesiologists are specially trained and board-certified to treat young patients. We provide anesthetics for thousands of surgical, diagnostic, or treatment procedures that children undergo each year.

Pediatric Cardiovascular Anesthesia

At NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley, our pediatric anesthesiologists care for the hundreds of children who undergo heart surgeries, cardiac catheterization procedures, and electrophysiology studies at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley every year.

Transplant Expertise

At NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley, we oversee the care of the many children having heart, liver, kidney, and small bowel transplantation. These complex and often lengthy operations require specialized knowledge. Our transplantation teams are prepared for any possible complications.

Quality Assurance

Our Division of Anesthesiology at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley is a founding member of a consortium of ten hospitals across the country, sponsored by the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia, that is dedicated to improving safety and quality in pediatric anesthesiology.

Pioneering Research

The Children's Hospital of New York pediatric anesthesiologists collaborate with laboratory researchers and specialists in newborn care, cardiology, surgery, transplantation, and other specialties to find new ways to reduce pain and discomfort in children.

NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center pediatric anesthesiologists led the PANDA (Pediatric Anesthesia Neurodevelopment Assessment) study. This was the largest and most comprehensive of its kind, published in June 2016 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. This research found that a single general anesthetic poses no cognitive risk to healthy children under age three, a critical time in brain development.

Access to World-Class Pediatric Specialists

Your child’s healthcare team has access to all of the various pediatric medical and surgical subspecialists who practice at the Children's Hospital of New York, ensuring that all of your child’s medical needs can be addressed.