Day before surgery: A nurse will call you the day before surgery to obtain a health history and answer any questions you have. If you have not received a call by 1 p.m., please call the Day Surgery office at 617-355-7921.

(If your child requires a formal Anesthesia Consult -- or if he or she is scheduled for an inpatient stay -- you and your child will need to go to the Pre-Op Clinic on a separate day for that consult. Otherwise, an anesthesiologist will see your child on the day of surgery.)

Day of surgery: Please arrive at the hospital at least 90 minutes before the scheduled surgery, so you can register in the Day Surgery Unit on Main 3 and see the anesthesiologist.

During surgery: In some circumstances, parents may be present with their child in the operating room while their child is falling asleep under anesthesia. During surgery, parents wait in the Family Waiting Area outside the operating rooms. After surgery.

After surgery: You will meet and stay with your child in the recovery room (Post Anesthesia Care Unit, or PACU). There, nurses will answer any questions you have and talk with you about how to care for your child at home. Telephone numbers will be provided for you to call if you have any questions once you get home. A nurse will call you the morning after surgery to see how your child and you are doing. Sometimes a child may need to stay overnight in the PACU for observation.