Should I Be Worried About Infant Anesthesia?

I know I m a little late getting in here. Hope all went well. My son had an MRI at 13 months under general anesthesia (suspected hydrocephalus) with no adverse effects. He is now a happy healthy 3yo.

My oldest had to have a CAT scan done at 2 years old. The anesthesia the hospital gave wasn't the anesthesia they give for surgery. It was just a heavy sedative and wasn't given in an IV. They gave it to him in his hiney. You might check to see if they can do something like that. He woke up about an hour after the scan. No matter what, I would have the MRI done to rule out everything.

I work with children this age and so many of them have a crossed or "lazy eye" Let me ask you this....what the heck would make the dr think he has a brain tumor?? Ask him how many of these MRI's does he send children to that come back negative. Base your decision on that I suppose. Personally, I would do the test but then when it does come back negative seek other treatment for the correction. Eyes do not work on their own. Eyes are part of the movable brain. This means, it is not an eye problem you can fix by cutting muscles or patching. It is a vestibular problem. The vestibular system is the pacemaker of our bodies and once that is off the entire auditory and visual systems are off. It is a perfect dance of these 3 things in the triangle. The Astronaut Program or a reflex integration program like INPP or Masgutova Method will fix the core problem so he won't have learning disabilities when he gets to school. If you leave the correction to an opthamologist, that is the beginning of the end. After test results, consult a pediatric developmental optometrist. They are completely different in their protocols and focus on the entire body systems, not just the eyes.

Have the MRI. That way you will know for sure. My son had to have an MRI when he was 12 months old and then a follow up one a year later. He had seizures and they wanted to rule out a tumor as well. The facility we went to was excellent and the staff was awesome. They had a play room for us to wait in and then about 15 minutes before the procedure, they gave him something to drink that would make him sleepy. We got to walk with him into the room where they would put him under. He was crying, and they gave him gas to put him out. I have to tell you it was heart breaking and oh so scary to see our little one be sedated. I just cried and cried. The staff was great. He had an IV, but we were out of the room before that happened.The MRI took about 45 minutes and then we went to wait in recovery. They wouldn't let us see him until he began to wake up and then we were escorted back where he was alert and crying, but after some juice and time in Mommy's lap. he was good. Of course, he doesn't remember a thing to this day. (He is 7 now and has been tested for the gifted program, so it did not affect him in any way)
You have to trust that the experts know what they are doing, and I am sure the facility has handled children before.
He also had to have a couple of EEGs and for that they want them to sleep during the procedure and that is when you have to "sleep deprive" them as another poster mentioned. You keep them up late and wake them early so they will be tired at the time of the EEG. No sedation needed there unless absolutely necessary. This was done at the neurologist's office. The MRI was done at the hospital in the outpatient surgery building.
Good Luck!

My son had an MRI at age 2. They gave him a strong sedative and let me hold him till he was asleep. There are always risks with any medication, so talk with your doctor about your fears so you can get all the information before deciding what it best for your child.

My son had 2 surgeries before he was 10 months old and both times he had to "go under". The hardest part was when he woke up and cried. The iv was still in his foot and they wouldn't take it out until he ate something. Well, he wouldn't eat because his foot hurt (I think) so the nurses took out the iv and he ate. As far as I can tell he is very normal and had no problems resulting from the sedation. Just some info so you can make a better decision on what you do.Good luck.

My 17month old had to have three surgeries by the time he was 5 months old. All of them included anesthesia. I was nervous about it all but the surgeries was to better his health. He is doing great and is active as ever.

Hang in there!!!

My son needed an MRI when he was 5 months old and it is a scary thought. My husband (who was in dental school at the time) talked to the anesthesiologist and asked how he would be put under. It is very mild sedation so that made me feel much better about the whole thing.

I would be more worried if you didnt have the test and there was a tumor, the benfits out way the risk. This test is done pretty often and they know what they are doing, it is better to just know everything now. As long as it is being done in a hospital setting I wouldn't be overly concerned about the anesthesia. I pray that it is not a tumor but wouldn't you rather know now instead of that thought being in the back of your head a month from now. I wish you luck with your decision, you can always get a second opinion to ease your mind. Good Luck! LM

Don't know if I'm too late with my answer, but we have lots of experience with this. When my son turned two we found out he had a brain tumor. He had surgery and it was successfully removed. He has had about 7 MRIs in the past year and a half. And he is a very healthy boy. My husband and I were concerned that having so much anesthesia would be unhealthy for him, but after speaking with many different doctors and nurses, they all assured us that there would be no problems from it. After the tumor he had MRIs every 3 months, now he is on an every 6 month schedule. In my opinion, the MRIs are neccessary.

I think it's ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY! Heaven forbid it be a brain tumor, but if there's a chance it is, they MOST DEFINITELY must know without a doubt! I'm sure these professionals know exactly what they are doing. I really don't feel like you need to worry. Trust them and let them do their job to help your little one.

My 3 yr old nephew had to have a Cat scan for swollen lymph nodes...like other posters mentioned it was just a strong sedation. The hard part was the dr.s instructed us to wake him very early in the am...procedure wasn't until 9am and he couldn't go back to sleep at all. I guess it helped with the sedation part....He did fine, my son 27months just went under general and did excellent. I'd just discuss your concerns with the dr.s and go with your gut...

My daughter is 3 and has been knocked out 3 times, I worried over it every time. She had an MRI when she was about 5 months old, the anesthesia she had was very mild and we were with her the entire time, so that helped. It is never an easy decision but we had confidence in the places we took her and finally decided each time that the tests were worth it. Good luck.

If you are doing this to rule out something that could effect his growing and development I would do it. A tumor isn't anything to mess around with, the anesthesia and MRI are fine as long as they aren't done over and over again and for a long period if time. I'm with you about the being nervous but I would 100% want to rule out the tumor if that is what the dr recommends. But you could always get a second opinion for a different Optometrist, which would be a good idea anyway.

Jess J.
I wouldn't chance not doing it.They normally don't want these unless there is a really good reason and from what you've said there is a really good reason. Anesthesia is safe and shouldn't bring any harm to your child. MRI's gIve important info to the Dr.s so they know what's going on in that little head,or what's not going on, as the case may be. I'd rather know,than rely on guesses. Good Luck to you and I hope all turns out well. God Bless, C. S.