Preparing for an operation can be overwhelming, but knowing what to expect before, during and after your stay can help prepare children of all ages. The Johns Hopkins All Children’s pediatric surgery team works alongside specialists throughout our hospital, including anesthesia and pain management, and wants our patients and their families to have the best experience possible.

Pre-operative Appointment

This important visit allows our team to design a custom care plan, conduct a health review, educate you on the surgery, and answer any remaining questions you may have. It’s a vital part of your child’s care that can help improve surgical results and speed up recovery times.

Preparing for the Pre-operative Appointment

A little preparation can go a long way to ensuring that this important visit goes efficiently and smoothly. Please be aware that no operation is performed at the initial consultation visit, but the child must be physically present to be evaluated.

Who Must Be Present at the Appointment

A parent or legal guardian must accompany the child to the pre-operative appointment:

• If you are a legal guardian, we will need to see the legal papers that indicate your legal guardian status.
• If you are the parent but do not have legal custody, we will need to see the legal papers that allow you to make health care decisions for your child.

In the event a legal guardian cannot accompany the child to the appointment, the person with the child at the appointment must bring a legally executed power of attorney form to the appointment (to be legally executed, the form must be signed by a legal guardian and notarized).

What to Bring

• Your insurance card
• Photo identification
• Insurance authorization
• Medical records
• Applicable co-payment is due at time of check-in.

Before the Day of Your Child’s Appointment

If your insurance requires authorization, it is your responsibility to have that forwarded to our office as soon as possible. Our fax number is 727-767-4346.

Parents/guardians are responsible for ensuring that the referring physician's records and applicable tests are sent before or are present with the child at the time of the appointment.

Bring a list of prescription and non-prescription medication and vitamin supplements your child is taking, including the name, dose and instructions.

Please note that failure to have appropriate authorization will result in either rescheduling the appointment or treating the patient as a self-pay, and payment must be made at time of service. Also note that failure to have relevant medical records and X-rays may result in rescheduling of the appointment.

Day of Operation and Care Afterward

Our team wants to help you prepare for your child’s hospital stay and also give you the information you need to care for your child at home. Please check with your doctor to find out if there are any instructions specific to your child’s operation or condition in addition to the following:

• Confirm the time and location of the operation
• Address all questions and concerns
• Bring a list of the patient’s medications
• Bring parent’s/guardian’s photo identification
• Follow your surgeon’s pre-operative instructions
• Remove all piercings
• Review eating and drinking instructions
• Prepare to care for your child after an operation (soup, popsicles, clear liquids, etc.)

Resources for Families

You can download our pre-operative instructions, which includes additional helpful information on preparing for your child’s surgery.

More information on things like NPO (“nothing by mouth”) guidelines before anesthesia, parking, check in and registration, the pre-op unit and operating room, and recovery is available in our Inpatient & Outpatient Surgery section. You’ll also find a helpful video on preparing for surgery, and information about filling your child’s prescriptions after surgery.

You can also view our Inpatient Family Guide, which includes information on what to expect while your child is in the hospital.