One day before surgery

These sections will help prepare you for your upcoming surgery and answer many questions you may have:

Checklist: the day before surgery

Children and youth:

take a bath or shower the evening before (or the morning of) surgery
remove all make up and nail polish
remove all jewellery (including plastic jewellery) from piercings (from nose, tongue, belly button, eyebrows, ears, etc.)
use a pad instead of a tampon on the day of surgery if you are having your period

Parents, guardians and caregivers:

arrange child care for your other children
speak with CHEO staff to confirm the time you should arrive
arrange for a ride home from the hospital
prepare your child or youth so they have an age-appropriate understanding of what’s going to happen at the hospital (see Speaking to your child about surgery)
have acetaminophen (Tylenol® or Tempra®) and Gravol® on hand at home
pack a bag with comfortable clothes, slippers, music, books and a special comfort toy

We do not have lockable storage for your valuable items. You are responsible for keeping track of any valuable items that you bring to the hospital.

Confirming the time of your surgery or procedure

We will call you 1 to 2 days before your surgery or procedure to confirm the time you should arrive at CHEO. If we do not call you by 8 pm the evening before, call CHEO’s Admitting Department: 613-737-7600, ext. 2310, before 11 pm.

What if my child or youth is sick before surgery?

Call your surgeon’s office as soon as possible if your child or youth has had or been in contact with someone who has these contagious disease illnesses in the three weeks before surgery: chicken pox, mumps, measles, tuberculosis (TB), whooping cough or scarlet fever.

Contact your surgeon’s office if your child or youth has had any of these symptoms in the last week:

has a cold or cough with mucus (and doesn’t feel like eating or is very tired)
is wheezing
has a fever (above 38 C)
is vomiting or has diarrhea

Between 4 and 11 pm the evening before surgery (or if you can’t reach your surgeon), call Admitting at 613-737-7600, ext. 2310, and tell them your child or youth is ill.

After 11 pm the evening before surgery, call 613-737-2346 (Surgical Day Unit) and leave a message. Be sure to include your child’s name, date of surgery, surgeon’s name and the illness (for example, a cold or fever).

We may ask you to come to the Surgical Day Unit in the morning to have them assessed by the anesthesiologist to decide if we will go ahead with the surgery or procedure.

For their safety, we may have to reschedule their surgery

Driving after surgery

You are not allowed to drive for 24 hours after having an anesthetic.

Fasting guidelines

Your child’s or youth’s surgery may be delayed or rescheduled if they have had something to eat or haven’t followed the fasting requirements for liquids.

Stop solid foods at midnight the day before your procedure

Stop formula / fortified breastmilk 6 hours before your procedure time

Stop breast milk 4 hours before your procedure time

Stop clear fluids (apple juice, water) when you arrive at the hospital

Why can’t my child or youth eat or drink before surgery or a procedure?

Everyone having anesthesia must have an empty stomach

While a patient is asleep during surgery, food or fluid in the stomach can come back up into the throat and go into the lungs. This can cause problems with breathing and infection.

Please note: Some children may require different fasting times and this will be discussed with you by your care team.

On the day of the surgery or procedure:

do not give your child or youth gum or candies
encourage your child or youth to drink water or apple juice until arrival at hospital

Does your child have to take medication?

If the surgeon or anesthesiologist tells you to give your child or youth regular medication on the day of surgery, give the medication with a very small amount of water only. Do not give with apple sauce, yogurt or other foods.

Is your child or youth having an endoscopy?

If your child is having an endoscopy, please follow the special fasting guidelines from your doctor or nurse.

Who should come to CHEO?

Parent/caregiver presence policy:

When parents and caregivers come with their children and youth to CHEO, they’re not visiting. They are actively working as part of their child’s care team, providing us with vital health information only they would know and giving emotional support in a way only a parent or caregiver can.

In order to help keep everyone safe and minimize the chance of transmission of infections during this pandemic, family caregivers will be screened before entering CHEO's main campus, and will not be allowed to enter if they are sick. All children, youth and family caregivers must enter through the main entrance for clinic visits, or the Emergency Department in urgent cases. Other entrances are closed.

Until further notice and effective immediately:

To limit the number of people in the building, ONE parent/caregiver will be allowed to accompany children and youth while at CHEO, whether in clinic, the Surgical Day Unit or the emergency department.

Children and youth who are admitted as inpatients may have ONE designated parent or caregiver present during the day and overnight. Only those who have been screened daily will be permitted at the bedside.

Siblings who are not designated caregivers are not permitted. We appreciate that this requires you to make childcare arrangements for any siblings, and we are so thankful for your support in doing so.

For some patients and caregivers (e.g. persons with disabilities), an additional essential support person may be allowed to aid patients and care teams. For patients and caregivers who require additional support, please contact your clinical area to determine if an exception to ONE parent or caregiver at a time can be granted. For Emergency Department (ED) visits, please discuss your need for an exception on arrival to the ED.

Given the seriousness of this pandemic, it is important that designated caregivers refrain from coming to CHEO if they are feeling unwell or displaying symptoms such as fever or cough. Rest assured, CHEO will find extra support for your child if you are unable to be onsite due to sickness.

Preventing the spread of infections

We want to make sure our patients get well quickly. Please help us prevent the spread of infections:

Clean your hands often with soap and water or alcohol-based hand gel. You must wash with soap and water if you can see dirt or if there is mucous on your hands.
If you are sick (a fever, cough, runny nose, diarrhea, a new rash or are feeling ill) and your child or youth is having surgery, stay home and send another parent or legal guardian with your child or youth.
Remember to have a bath or shower the night before (or the morning of) your surgery.

Surgery delays or rescheduling

Unfortunately, surgeries and procedures are sometimes delayed or rescheduled because:

we need to do emergency surgery on a seriously ill or injured child or youth
another surgery takes longer than expected.
we do not have an inpatient bed available for children or youth needing to stay overnight after surgery (caused by high numbers of patients in the hospital)

We will do our best to keep you informed about any delays. We only reschedule surgeries if we have no other choice.

If your child’s or youth’s surgery gets delayed, we will book a new surgery date as quickly as possible. We appreciate your understanding!