Liver Biopsy Prep and Recovery for Toddler-no Food for 8-12 Hours???

My daughter had procedures called VCUG's which is basically a contrast that was injected into her bladder while she was awake through her vagina so they could get a good look at her bladder. She was born with a cyst on her bladder and had some plumbing issues that were causing reflux into her kidneys. She started having the VCUG (and about 10 times until age 6) and a ultrasound starting at age 1.
They used to give her a calming medicine on her pacifier to keep her calm. She then had two surgeries after that where she had to fast the night before. Sometimes they allow a clear diet but you will get those instructions from your doctor.
My youngest had her tonsils out at age 2. She had to do the fasting the night before too. To keep her still they gave her a medicine called Roxyset(sorry spelling might be wrong) it kept her knocked out most of the day after the surgery.
If you are going to a Children's hospital they have activities to keep your young one busy. Just try not to eat in front of them.
They are not allowed to eat because if there is sedation involved they could vomit into their lungs which can lead to complications and pneumonia.
My youngest didn't have a liver biopsy but a bladder biopsy which I am sure is just as painful. Recovery time after a procedure like that is usually one to two hours. You will be brought back to recovery to see your child and be prepared. It isn't easy seeing your child hooked up to machines and sedate.
My advice is bring a favoirte toy. Or you child might find a toy there. My oldest took a plastic ear of corn into surgery with her and came out still holding it lol!
The hardest part will be for you having to go into and letting go of your child for the procedure. At our Children's Hospital you are allowed to wait in the holding area with them. The internet can be both good and bad for you. Do NOT let it drive you insane! This biopsy will hopefully give you some answers you are looking for. Good luck to you!

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Answer from an Anesthesiologist:
It is very essential NOT to feed your kid for 8 hours before surgery. The reason behind is, if there is food in stomach, when patients are asleep they loose control over there stomach and esophagus, and can not keep the food in the stomach any more. Hence the chances of vomiting are very high. Since they cant protect their lung under anesthesia, they can breathe in food and die from pneumonia later on. Hence it is very essential Not to feed.
Here are the recommendations:
8 hrs before Surgery: No Solid food
6 hrs before surgery: No formula food
4 hrs before surgery: No breast milk
2 hrs before surgery: No clear liquids like water or pedialyte.
Sometimes these recommendations are changed for the type of surgery like Surgery on intestines they dont want any food for a whole day. Hence it is best to check with your doctor. Since liver biopsy is not a surgery on intestines, most likely they will tell you the recommendations for no solid food 8 hrs before surgery.

I have had a liver biopsy. You have received the right advice on anesthesia and not eating. It is just vital or even more so to lie still. The liver is filter a large amount of blood at any given time. I was told if I didn't lie still I could bleed to death very quickly - within minutes. I was afraid to get up! With your child being so young, I imagine they keep them sedated so it is not a problem. And to help with not eating, feed a snack late. Check on when liquids start and how long you can give water. The worse part for me is not eating, it is being thirsty! Good luck - I'll be praying for a good outcome!

my 7 year old just had a kidney biopsy. they want the child's stomach empty so the child doesn't throw up. don't ignore the dr's orders....this could do more harm to your child. and my son had to be still for 8 hours after his biopsy and we brought along toys and some new surprises for him to have and play with!!! it's really not that bad...

Dawn gave you a great answer, but I just want to emphasize to everyone that the reason you cannot eat before surgery is not just so that you don't get sick, it is so that you don't get sick and aspirate on your vomit. This is an extremely important rule that is for the patient's safety. Please follow all your doctor's guidelines for surgery -- they make them for a reason!

I would imagine that if they need your child to stay still after the procedure they will use some sort of sedation. These are all great questions to ask at a pre-op visit. Try not to worry about it too much until then.

I would absolutely follow the doctors orders on this. My son has had several spinal taps and each time he was on food and liquid restrictions for a period of time beforehand. I don't know the exact reason why as I didn't ask. I just followed instructions. I assumed it had something to do with anesthesia and getting sick.

From my experience:
- Ask for an early morning appt so your child can sleep through the time he can't eat/drink

- Be clear about the restrictions (for example ours was no food after midnight, clear liquids up until 2 hours before procedure, nothing for the 2 hours before the procedure. Your restrictions may be different.)

- Your child will be groggy for quite some time after the procedure and will not be moving around much. Maybe ask how they help to facilitate laying on the back for 2-4 hours. Do they strap them down?

- Ask about protocol for him eating and drinking after the procedure. What do they have on hand? Can you bring his favorites?

-My son's doc suggested letting him stay up late the night before his procedure as he said kids take to the anesthesia better.

I would suggest calling the facility/doc doing the procedure and asking your specific questions. They will understand that this is a new situation for you and you want to be well informed so you know what to do and what to expect.

Best wishes to you.

It is life threatening to ignore something like that. They tell you that for a very specific reason. If there stomach is not empty and they go under anesthesia they could vomit and this can cause serious complications and even death. He will likely be very crabby and it is hard but he obviously is having this done for a reason so you just have to get through it. After he will probably be really tired and out of it. I am sure they have their ways to help with things like that after those procedures with someone so young. Good luck. You will both get through it OK!

Hi J.,
I think it's important to follow the no eating rule. If a child eats before surgery it's possible that they will vomit when they are under anesthesia and it could get into their lungs. My daughter had a minor surgery when she was about 15 months old and I was pretty worried about how we would manage with her unable to eat for so long. What worked for us was just to keep her really busy so she didn't think about being hungry (and of course don't eat in front of her during that time). We came up with some "new" activities that she'd never done before so they would be really exciting and engaging for her -- for example putting down a picnic table cloth on the bathroom floor and then spraying out a couple of bottles of shaving cream to let her play in. She loved it and it keep her busy for a long time! In the end it turned out to be a lot easier than I had feared. Good luck!
S.

Popcicles can be considered a clear liquid. My toddler son ate these for breakfast before his surgeries (within the allowed time) and didn't complain too much.

There are several reasons they shouldn't not eat. If your child is being put under for this procedure they could puke during/after the procedure cause problems. It can also be that they want food out of the system so the food does not interfer with the actual tests being done.

I had a liver biopsy. Have to lie on your right side for hours afterward. Not sure how you convince a 1 year old to do that. I've only posted here because I wanted to tell you that although it was a bit scary, the pain for me was non-existent and the recovery was nothing after I left the hospital. I think the non-eating thing is so that the liver is in the right stage of doing it's job. Good luck!

You child will probably being given anesthia which is why they can't eat because of the risk of vomitting during the procedure. I am sure they will keep her calm with medications to help her keep still after the procedure. I wouldn't ignore the Dr's orders as it would be horrible to have something go wrong just because of little discomfort for one day.