Patient portal
In the Anesthesiology Department, we work to ease the anxiety of pediatric patients during the pre- and post- surgical period, as well as that of mothers during childbirth.
We specialise in caring for both children and women before, during and after surgical operations. Our goal is to avoid patient pain in a safe environment, surrounded by family.
We handle all surgical interventions in children, from newborns to 18 years old, as well as women of any age throughout their entire obstetric and gynecological journey.
Our team is made up of doctors and nurses who specialise in anesthesiology. Alongside our surgical specialists, we tend to scheduled and emergency patients 24 hours a day, both in Spain and abroad.
Anesthesia procedure
Before surgery
We carry out a medical assessment of the patient to ensure that they are indicated for the surgical operation. We provide anti-anxiety measures to both children and their family before any operation, thus avoiding long-term effects that could be provoked by mishandling their fears.
Parents are present during anesthesia administration
During anesthesia procedures
We make sure patients are in the safest of conditions using techniques that are adapted to each process, whether that is routine or specialised surgery. We provide individualised pain relief during and after surgery to manage pain.
Alongside Women's Health, we offer alternative pain relief options for the over 4,000 births that take place at the Hospital each year. We also provide critical care during the entire gynecological and obstetrics journey.
Post-operation
The Anesthesia Department handles acute pain, primarily post-operative, using a variety of analgesic techniques:
- Patient-controlled pain relief (children aged 6+).
- Nurse-controlled pain relief (children under 6 or non-cooperative).
- Epidural pain relief.
- Nerve blocks.
- Administration of opioids and other pain relief drugs.
Why the SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital?
Our approach to mitigating anxiety and fear in children and their family before a surgical operation is groundbreaking in Spain. Our aim is to prevent severe long-term disorders brought on by mismanagement of anxiety and fear.
Attention to the fears of the child and the family
We are pioneers in the use of techniques to mitigate the fears and uncertainties of children and their families before a surgical intervention, with the aim of avoiding the severe disorders that poor management of their fears can cause.
At SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital, we treat families, not just patients. We are pioneers in using techniques to alleviate the fears and uncertainties of the child and the family before a surgical procedure, in order to prevent severe disorders which may arise from poor management of their fears.
Anguish and fear may even negatively influence the patient's recovery. We therefore work in collaboration with parents as an essential element in decreasing fear and anxiety, and also lessening children's discomfort and pain.
- Information is the best anxiolytic. The patient and the family meet with the anaesthesiologist to dispel all their doubts before a procedure. Putting ourselves in the shoes of the child and the family is an essential part of our work.
- We offer parents the option of entering the surgical area so that they may accompany their sleeping child.
- We were the first in Spain to introduce clowns in the operating theatre to entertain children and alleviate their anxiety before a procedure.
- We have a Child Life specialist, a nurse and a psychologist who work with the child and the family to alleviate all their fears before entering the operating theatre.
- To support our commitment to alleviate anxiety and fears, we have also prepared educational materials, such as a story illustrated by Xavier Mariscal.
We are experts when it comes to personalising anesthetic to each patient and their circumstances.
Experience in personalized analgesia
We are experts in adapting anesthesia to the particularities of each patient and their disease.
- We provide personalised analgesia during and after surgery. We are experts in adapting anaesthesia to the particular characteristics of each patient and each disease.
- We are pioneers in using special outpatient pain management techniques in different specialties: oncological surgery, trauma anaesthesia, rare diseases, heart diseases and birth defects, etc.
- We are experts in performing sedation techniques outside of the surgical area, in order to provide physical and emotional comfort to the child and to allow the professional to perform the test as safely as possible. These techniques are used to conduct diagnostic tests that in adults would be performed without sedation, but that in children require anaesthesia, for example: radiological tests, magnetic resonance imaging, cardiac catheterisation, ophthalmological tests, rehabilitation and biopsies.
We work hand-in-hand with other departments and units in the Hospital, with there even being an Acupuncture specialist on staff.
Specific consultation for the treatment of chronic pain
We work in coordination with other services and units of the Hospital and we have a specialist in Acupuncture.
We collaborate with other specialized services of the Hospital for the treatment of pain in children with cancer or who have been amputated.The Anaesthesiology Department at SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital is a leader in Spain in evaluating patients with anxiety, accredited by the Spanish Society of Anaesthesiology and Resuscitation (SEDAR).
We collaborate with multiple international NGOs by sending our professionals to work on projects that they are carrying out in southern countries, such as Honduras and Sierra Leone.
Our figures
Anaesthesiology: Procedures per year
Procedures requiring anaesthesia in outpatient surgery
Procedures requiring anaesthesia in hospitalization
Team
“We do everything we can to make the surgical process feel like a game, thereby reducing anxiety and worry for both the child and their family.”
Research
The Anesthesiology Department at the SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital takes part in international research projects in the following lines:
- Fluid-replacement therapy.
- Anesthetic use in neonates and nursing infants.
- Child safety and comfort.
- Reducing stress before surgery: STARS Project
- Reducing post-op stress
- Pain
Teaching
The SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital is a university hospital affiliated with the University of Barcelona. We share our knowledge and train professionals who can go onto specialise in Pediatric Anesthesiology.
Specialised training for Internal Medical Residents (MIR)
We are a leading healthcare centre when it comes to training staff from other facilities in Anesthesiology. We teach 40 internal medical residents (MIR) each year, from all over Catalonia and Spain. Inhaled anesthetics training
We are a leading international training centre for inhaled anesthetics.