Our Service Promise

Our Department provides the safest anesthesia practice for this unique group of patients that insures quality to the patient, his or her family, and the MRI team. We will ensure that the family experience is one that promotes the confidence that the patient is receiving the best possible care.

About Our Program

Our department provides sedation in the form of general anesthesia for pediatric patients having MRI evaluations. Patients must follow the Preoperative Fasting Guuidelines (see "Department Links") as if they were coming to the operating room. Patients will come to the hospital on the day of the procedure and go through admitting, the radiology reception desk, and the Ambulatory Surgrey Unit (ASU) prior to coming to the MRI scanner. The anesthesia provider will meet the patient either in the ASU or the MRI scanner to evaluate the patient for the procedure and answer questions the family or patient may have. A history of the patient will have already been provided to the anesthesia provider in most cases, so confirmation of that history will take place. Parents or guardians will be allowed to attend the initiation of anesthesia (when the child is anesthetized) and will be asked to leave as soon as the patient is asleep. They will then wait in the radiology waiting room until the conclusion of the procedure and the anesthesia provider is taken the patient to the recover room.

About the Anesthesia

In almost all cases the induction of anesthesia will take place by inhalation of the anesthetic gas. After the patient is fully asleep and unable to feel pain, the patient receives an IV and breathing tube prior to being placed in the scanner. The anesthesia provider will monitor the depth of the anesthetic during the scan. Upon completion of the scan the patient will be removed form the scanner and the anesthetic discontinued. The patient will then be taken to the recovery room by the anesthesia provider and a transporter with the IV in place where the patient will remain until the patient is fully recovered. Parents or guardians may accompany the patient to the recovery room in most cases and may attend the child until discharge.

Our department is proud to offer this service to our patients and has an excellent track record of safety.