{"id":7126,"date":"2019-08-22T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2019-08-22T13:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=7126"},"modified":"2019-08-12T15:40:21","modified_gmt":"2019-08-12T20:40:21","slug":"three-questions-to-ask-before-your-childs-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/three-questions-to-ask-before-your-childs-surgery\/","title":{"rendered":"Three questions to ask before your child&#8217;s surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When children need medical care, choosing the right provider can put a parent\u2019s mind at ease.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing is scarier as a parent than thinking or knowing something is wrong with your child. We treat that family like we would want our family to be treated, and we want to care for that child as we would want our child to be cared for,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/providers\/charles-aprahamian-1462686\">Dr. Charles Aprahamian<\/a>, surgeon-in-chief at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/childrens\/\">OSF HealthCare Children\u2019s Hospital of Illinois<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>When children need surgery, such as an appendectomy or repair of an umbilical or inguinal hernia, a provider specially trained in pediatric surgery brings additional expertise. Likewise, facilities that specialize in treating children have specialized technology to navigate through a child\u2019s small body.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChildren are not just little adults. Children are different. That\u2019s why we have a children\u2019s hospital, and it\u2019s why we have pediatric subspecialists here,\u201d Dr. Aprahamian said.<\/p>\n<h2>Pediatric specialists<\/h2>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthychildren.org\/English\/family-life\/health-management\/pediatric-specialists\/Pages\/What-is-a-Pediatric-Surgeon.aspx\">pediatric general surgeon<\/a> is a physician who went through the same training as a general surgeon for adults, then added a two-year fellowship specific for pediatric\u00a0surgery.<\/p>\n<p>They are experienced in surgeries of patients ranging from premature babies to young adults.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-7129 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Pediatric-surgery-internal-image-2-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Happy child with doctor and mother. \" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Pediatric-surgery-internal-image-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Pediatric-surgery-internal-image-2-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Pediatric-surgery-internal-image-2-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Pediatric-surgery-internal-image-2.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you choose a pediatric general surgeon, you\u2019re taking your most precious resource \u2013 your child \u2013 to someone who has done dedicated training in the care of children,\u201d Dr. Aprahamian said.<\/p>\n<p>Questions to consider when choosing a doctor or surgeon are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Where did he or she train?<\/li>\n<li>Is he or she board-certified to care for children?<\/li>\n<li>When scheduling surgery, does this facility have resources dedicated to the care of children?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Answers to these questions about your provider usually can be found online (OSF HealthCare has information about training, education and certifications in its online <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/providers\/search\/\">provider directory<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<h2>Benefits for children and parents<\/h2>\n<p>The difference in choosing a dedicated children\u2019s hospital for your child\u2019s care is more than just the training and expertise of the medical staff.<\/p>\n<p>OSF Children\u2019s Hospital was created with kids and families in mind. From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/childrens\/amenities\/during-your-stay\/preparing-surgery\/\">pre-op areas<\/a> designed to keep kids at ease to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/childrens\/services\/inpatient-services\/inpatient-units\/child-life-services\/\">child life services<\/a> to keep them happy, OSF Children\u2019s Hospital will care for all of your child\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n<p>For parents, this includes processes to make your child\u2019s treatment as easy as possible.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-7131 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Pediatric-surgery-family-300x158.jpg\" alt=\"Happy family with their child after pediatric surgery.\" width=\"300\" height=\"158\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Pediatric-surgery-family-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Pediatric-surgery-family-768x403.jpg 768w, https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Pediatric-surgery-family-710x373.jpg 710w, https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Pediatric-surgery-family-500x263.jpg 500w, https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Pediatric-surgery-family-400x210.jpg 400w, https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Pediatric-surgery-family.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Surgical procedures are always performed at OSF Children\u2019s Hospital in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.peoriagov.org\/\">Peoria<\/a>, where surgeons have access to specialized equipment for treating children, and pre- and post-op appointments can be scheduled in one of more than 10 satellite clinics throughout Illinois.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want to do what is most convenient for that family. We try to make it as close to home as possible,\u201d Dr. Aprahamian said.<\/p>\n<p>When you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/childrens\/services\/surgery\/\">schedule a surgery<\/a> at OSF Children\u2019s Hospital, families also have the option to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/childrens\/amenities\/during-your-stay\/pre-operative-tour\/\">visit and tour<\/a> to see the facilities before they arrive for treatment, which helps both parents and children feel more confident.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When children need medical care, choosing the right provider can put a parent\u2019s mind at ease. \u201cNothing is scarier as a parent than thinking or knowing something is wrong with your child. We treat that family like we would want our family to be treated, and we want to care for that child as we [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":7133,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[142,371,154],"coauthors":[757],"class_list":["post-7126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pediatrics","tag-childrens-hospital-of-illinois","tag-pediatrics","tag-surgery"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Three questions to ask before your child&#039;s surgery | OSF HealthCare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When your child needs surgery, look for a provider and facility with expertise and equipment for pediatrics like OSF Children&#039;s 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