The pediatric anesthesiology team at St. Louis Children’s Hospital is dedicated to the health and safety of every child. Our team provides consultation services before surgery or sedated procedure and work closely with specialists and surgeons to deliver the highest level of care. Our pediatric anesthesiologists direct the perioperative care of infants and children, including evaluation before surgery or procedure, administration of anesthesia and care following the procedure including pain management.
Why Choose Us
- The pediatric anesthesia team offers regional and acute pain management services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- We focus on children, providing specialized care to kids of all ages, shapes and sizes.
- We are one of the few children’s hospitals in the region that offers sedation for imaging studies.
- We provide comprehensive anesthesia services and consultations for all the surgical and pediatric subspecialties, including cardiac surgery, solid organ transplantation and major neurosurgical procedures, including craniofacial surgery.
- In addition to pediatric anesthesiology, many of our team members are also board-certified in other subspecialty areas, including general pediatrics, emergency medicine, critical care medicine, and pain management.
- We are international leaders in basic, clinical and translational research focused on advancing science and the perioperative care of children.
- We utilize one of the few pediatric simulation centers in the country uniquely designed to focus on the training of physicians and nurses who care for pediatric patients.
- We are leaders in the development of innovative education curriculums and training programs to train future leaders in research, clinical practice and postgraduate medical education.
Team of Experts
Our team consists of board-certified Washington University pediatric anesthesiologists, certified registered nurse anesthetists and pediatric nurse practitioners. Each team member is skillfully trained to care for infants and children. Our anesthesiologists have obtained a medical degree, completed specialty residency training in anesthesiology and subspecialty fellowship training in pediatric anesthesiology.
Our pain management team focuses on restoring a patient’s everyday function. Led by a pediatric anesthesiology pain specialist, the team works with physical therapists, psychologists and pain pediatric nurse practitioners. Each team member offers unique treatments, catering to the specific needs for managing your child's pain.
Services
Inpatient Anesthesia
Over 16,000 anesthetics are administered to children of all ages and conditions each year at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. We provide anesthesia services for all pediatric surgical subspecialties, including cardiac surgery, transplantation, orthopedic, plastic surgery and neurosurgery.
Ambulatory anesthesia (outpatient)
Many surgical procedures and anesthetics are performed on an outpatient basis. Anesthesia and post-operative care is provided in a manner that will promote early discharge home. Ambulatory services are provided at both St. Louis Children’s Hospital on the main campus as well as at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Specialty Care Center in West County.
Sedation services
The pediatric anesthesiology team provides comprehensive anesthesia and sedation services for children requiring sedation who undergo imaging or invasive procedures outside the operating room. This includes radiological procedures such a CT or MRI scans, nuclear medicine studies, as well as radiation and proton therapy. In addition, when requested pediatric anesthesiologists and team members care for children who must undergo painful procedures such as biopsies, lumbar punctures, or interventional radiological procedures and angiograms.
Preoperative consultation (before surgery)
The pediatric anesthesiology team is available to patients, families and practitioners to provide 24/7 consultative services for inpatients and outpatients before their surgery or procedure. During regular business hours, children may be referred by their physician for preoperative evaluation to our Center for Preoperative Preparation and Planning (CPAP). Our aim is to both educate and inform patients and families, as well as assist referring physicians with planning the surgical procedure, anesthesia and post-operative pain management. This same service is also provided for inpatients at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Pediatric Airway Management and Consultation
The Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology at St. Louis Children’s Hospital is a pioneer in providing consultation and care to children who have been identified to be at risk for complications related to challenging airway anatomy or pulmonary disorders. Following consultation, a team of pediatric anesthesiology consultants follow at risk patients closely during their hospital stay.
Pain Management
St. Louis Children’s Hospital is one of the few hospitals in the Midwest that offers comprehensive inpatient acute pain management and regional anesthesia services, as well as outpatient chronic pain management consultation in our Pain Management Clinic. The center provides consultative services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for children challenged with a range of chronic pain issues.
