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Eeeeeeks!!! You're having surgery!
…but relax! You're in good hands here at Surgery Center!

Here is what will happen when you come in for your surgery
visit. And don't worry, surgery is something that your
doctor wants you to have so that you can feel better!

Your surgery will be done in a special building.
We built Surgery Center so it would look really neat…like a big cube!
It's got lots of mirrors on the outside.

The first thing you'll do is easy! Your mom, dad or someone
close to you will bring you to Surgery Center a day or two
before your surgery. We'll get to meet you and you can take
a look around so you'll know where you're
going on the day of surgery.

After you visit with us, there may be some other people that want
to meet you. They work in the laboratory. You'll get to ride in
the elevator to meet them! They just want to check your body
to be sure everything is a-okay.

You're going to get your own special bracelet with your name on it.
We also let you change clothes into our surgery outfits. They are
a little different from your pajamas, and we call them surgery pajamas.

A really nice nurse will take you, your mom or dad,
or whoever you brought with you to a room called the Pre-Op Area.
You'll have your very own bed and the nurse will put a sticker on your forehead.
The sticker is a thermometer that tells the nurse if your body is hot or cold.
The nurse will also use a blood pressure cuff around your arm to find out
how fast or slow your blood moves.

The anesthesiologist is a special kind of doctor that puts people to sleep before their surgery and wakes them up after their surgery.
He'll listen to your heartbeat with his stethoscope.
After he's finished, the nurse will give you some medicine to drink that will make you sleepy.

Now you're all ready to go to the Operating Room! This is where your
doctor will do the surgery, but don't worry about your parents. They
will be close by in the waiting room.

How do you get to the Operating Room if you are in bed??
Oh, we forgot to tell you that your bed has wheels and the nurses
can roll you around while you lay in bed! On your way to the Operating
Room, you'll pass by lots of people. They will have on surgery pajamas
a little bit like yours and masks and hats, but don't be scared…they
are doctors and nurses too. They just wear those because we want
to keep all the germs out of your room!

Remember that special doctor that came to listen to your heart?
He has special nurses called Nurse Anesthetists that he picks to take
care of you while you are in the Operating Room. Those nurses help you
to go to sleep for your surgery. When you get to the Operating Room,
you'll see big machines and lights. Your Nurse Anesthetist will let
you wear a mask that's connected to a balloon. As you breathe
into the mask, the balloon fills up with air.
This is how you fall asleep.

Next thing you know…you're all done! You'll wake up in the Recovery
Room when your surgery is finished. How did you get there?!
Remember, your bed has wheels on it. Your nurses roll you to the Recovery
Room so you can wake up and see your parents again. You might not
feel so good right when you wake up, but you'll feel better soon.
While you are waking up, your doctor goes to the waiting room and
talks to your parents to tell them all about your surgery and how
well you did. Your parents will come meet you in the Recovery Room
after they talk to your doctor. We even have rocking chairs so
your parents can rock you to help you feel better!