Pediatric Urology: Robotic Surgery Preparation Book

Hi, my name is Manny and this is my mom. I came to the hospital for surgery today. My surgery was called robotic surgery. This means that the doctor was going to use a special tool, called a robot, to perform my surgery. You can follow me through the steps of my surgery day so you know what your surgery day will be like.

Outpatient Surgery Registration This is the first room I went to at the hospital. It’s called Outpatient Surgery Registration. It’s a big waiting room with a lot of chairs. Other people are waiting for their surgeries, too.

Reception/Information Desk My mom and I checked in with the nice ladies at the Reception/Information desk. I brought my own books and toys so I could play with those while my mom filled out the paper work. What will you bring when you come to the hospital?

Checking Height and Weight When the nurse called my name, she took me and my mom to a room where she checked my height and weight. I’ve done this at the doctor’s office before!

Checking Temperature The nurse also checked my temperature. It tickled across my forehead.

Exam Room or Pre-Op Room My nurse took me to another room called the “exam room” or “pre-op room.” In this room, I changed into some funny hospital pajamas. My nurse also gave me a wristband that had my name and my birthday written on it. This wristband is so the doctors and nurses know exactly who I am.

Another doctor called an anesthesiologist (an-ess-THEEZ-ee-ah-lo-gist) came to see me. That is a fancy word for a “sleepy medicine doctor.” That doctor’s job was to give me anesthesia (an-ess-THEEZ-ya) or sleepy medicine so I wouldn’t see, feel, or hear anything while the doctors did the surgery. Some doctors came to see me in the pre-op room. The doctor who was doing my surgery drew on my stomach with a marker. This is so everyone knows where I’m having surgery.

When the doctors and nurses were ready for me, I rode on my bed with wheels down the hallway and up the elevator toward the Operating Room. My mom came too!

Operating Room This is what the Operating Room looked like. This is the room where the doctor did my surgery. Right above the bed are some lights – I think they looked like spaceships or satellites. The machine right next to the bed is what the anesthesiologist used to help give my sleepy air. Here’s a bed that I moved to.

Robot This is the tool that the doctor used to perform my surgery.

In the Operating Room, the nurse put a pulse ox on my finger. It was sticky, kind of like a band-aid, and it had a little red light on the end. It listened to my breathing. Pulse Ox

Then, the nurse put leads on my chest and stomach. These round stickers listen to my heartbeat and my breathing. They’re kind of cold and gooey! Leads

Next, the doctor helped hold the anesthesia mask over my nose and mouth. This is the mask that gave me sleepy air so I can take a special medicine nap during surgery. I got to pick out a yummy smell to go inside the mask. My choices were: strawberry, cherry, watermelon, grape, root beer, bubble gum, and orange. I picked strawberry! What smell will you pick for your mask? Anesthesia Mask

I took deep breaths in through my nose so I could smell the strawberry smell. I started to feel giggly and goofy. Then, I drifted off to sleep. I stayed asleep the whole time during surgery.

Recovery Room or Wake-up Room After the surgery was finished, I woke up in the Recovery Room. My mom was right by my side. In this room, I still had the leads on my chest and stomach and the pulse ox on my finger. I also woke up with the blood pressure cuff.

IV Another thing I woke up with was something called an IV. IV stands for “intravenous” or “into my vein.” This is a medicine straw that helps to get medicines and fluids to my body. I got my IV after I was asleep, but before I woke up.

My most important job in the Recovery Room was to tell my nurse how I felt. When I woke up, the lower part of my stomach, called the abdomen (ab-doh-men), was kind of sore and uncomfortable. My mom reminded me to tell my nurse if I hurt. When the nurse gave me medicine through my IV, it worked really fast.

My Overnight Room at the Children’s Hospital After my surgery, I had to stay overnight in the hospital so the doctors and nurses could make sure my body was healing the exact way they wanted it to. I rode in my bed down some hallways and up a couple elevators to get to that room. This is the room I stayed in at the Children’s Hospital. In this room, I had a bed, a chair that my mom could sleep in overnight, my own bathroom, and my own television. I even had a room service menu where I could pick out my own food!

You will spend one or two nights at the hospital. When the doctors say your body is better, it will be time to go home!

Parents, if you’d like to learn more information… Child life specialists are experts in child development and are trained to help prepare children for medical events, including surgeries. If you have questions and would like to speak to a child life specialist prior to your child’s surgery day, please contact: Alyssa Geis, CCLS Outpatient Surgery Child Life Specialist Phone: , ext 2, option 9. is an animated website designed to educate children, in a developmentally appropriate way, about medical equipment they’ll see, rooms they’ll go to, and people they’ll meet on surgery day. There’s also a “Parent” tab that includes beneficial information for you. Please visit the OU Children’s Physicians pediatric robotic surgery website: