When surgery or a procedure requiring anesthesia is needed, it's important to bring your child to a place designed for children and staffed by professionals trained to provide health care to children. When you step into the Pediatric Surgery area of Wolfson Children's Hospital (fondly known as "POPS"), you will notice the bright colors, artwork, and "hands-on" play areas provided to relax our young patients and ease their wait. Younger children are transported in red wagons or boats rather than wheelchairs. Children awaiting surgery may be entertained by well-mannered pet dogs that visit, by musicians, or any number of volunteers who give of their time to bring a smile to a child's face.

To help our patients and loved ones prepare for surgery, you will find a video that shows the step-by-step process from the patient's perspective and a copy of the patient guide here. Feel free to view the video with your child and refer to the patient guide for general "before and after" surgery instructions.

The staff in the Pediatric Surgery area is highly qualified. The anesthesiologists are board certified in pediatric anesthesia. The Recovery Room nurses are certified as Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and Basic Live support (BLS). Their focus on children enables the Pediatric Surgery staff to communicate with your child on his or her level and to anticipate needs. Our trained staff uses observation and monitoring to evaluate your child even when he or she doesn't articulate feedback about their condition.

Working as an integrated team with surgeons and physicians from Nemours Children's Clinic (Jacksonville) and Mayo Clinic (Jacksonville and Rochester), a wide range of surgeries are performed each day at Wolfson Children's Hospital. A sampling of the procedures is listed below:

• Appendectomy
• Bone marrow harvest
• Cardiac procedures
• Dentistry
• General Surgery
• Hernia repair
• Immune deficiency medical management (infusion)
• Miminally Invasive procedures including Laproscopy
• MRI with pediatric anesthesia
• Neurosurgery - craniotomy, VP shunt
• Nerve stimulation (for epilepsy)
• Ophthalmology - Electroretinogram (ERG)with sedation
• Orthopaedics including Sports Medicine, limb deformity corrections and hand program)
• Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose & Throat) - Facial reconstruction, Cleft palate, Cochlear Implants
• Tonsillectomy
• Urological procedures - Lithotripsy