Day of Surgery at the Hospital

Day of the Procedure at St. Louis Children’s Hospital:

Review directions and parking information for St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Your child may brush teeth using water only. No toothpaste, please!
Please arrive by your scheduled arrival time.
Note: Children less than 15 years of age are not permitted on inpatient areas during flu season.

After parking, stop at the lobby desk. Tell the greeter you are looking for Same Day Surgery. They will direct you to the 6th floor.
At the 6th floor Same Day Surgery Registration and Waiting Room, sign in at the registration desk when you arrive and be seated.
When your name is called, please present your insurance card and driver’s license or photo ID.
Once registration is complete, you will be given a visitor badge that must be worn during your stay.

Two adults will be allowed in the pre-op area with your child. Other family members or visitors may wait in the registration/waiting area.
To ensure the safety of your child, our staff may repeat the same questions and do frequent ID bracelet checks.
Your child may be getting medications that make him or her sleepy and unsteady. This will put your child at risk for falling. For safety, your child will need to be held or stay in bed with the side rails up.
A nurse and anesthesiologist will escort your child to the operating room.
Prior to the procedure, your child may be required to provide a urine sample. If your child needs to use the bathroom while you’re in the pre-procedure area, please check with the nurse before going.
As a routine part of the process, we screen our female patients’ urine samples for possible pregnancy starting at age 9.

Your nurse will tell you where to wait during surgery. The doctor may need to talk to you before, during and after the procedure. For this reason we ask that at least one caretaker remains in the assigned waiting area at all times while your child is on the 6th floor.
The Doris I. Schnuck Same Day Surgery Family Waiting Area was developed with suggestions from parent members of the hospital’s Family Advisory Council. The space is divided into private rooms—reserved for families of patients undergoing major or daylong surgeries such as cardiac procedures or spinal fusions—and semi-private areas. All offer plush, colorful sofas and recliners, televisions, telephones and muted lighting.
If one of you must leave the floor to go to the cafeteria, please get a pager from the registration desk. As a courtesy to the children who are awaiting surgery and aren’t allowed to eat, please don’t bring food to the waiting area.
To check the status of your child, please speak to the registration staff or your child’s nurse.

A nurse will be assigned to care for your child during recovery.
Recovery times vary. You will be contacted as soon as your child is awake and it is safe to have a visitor in the recovery room. This may take 15 minutes or longer.
Two caregivers are allowed in the recovery room. Siblings are not allowed in recovery.

You will be able to take your child home when certain criteria are met.
A nurse will review your discharge instructions, answer any questions you have and give you a copy of the discharge instructions. Please be sure to ask any and all questions!
Sometimes your child may need to be admitted to the hospital following surgery, depending on his or her condition. If so, your nurse will escort you and your child to an inpatient room. Once you are there, you will receive additional information for your stay.
Once you return home, you will receive a phone call after the procedure to check on your child’s recovery unless you request otherwise.
We suggest having apple juice, Pedialyte or other clear drinks at home for after the procedure.