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"A" for Anesthesia

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute recently gave Children's Hospital Boston's Anesthesia Department the "People's Choice and Quality Award" for our Outpatient Anesthesia Service at the Jimmy Fund Clinic.

Directed by anesthesiologist Rosalie Tassone, MD, this new service allows many Dana-Farber/Children's Hospital Cancer Care patients to receive all their therapy and procedures in one place, rather than traveling between Dana-Farber for treatment and lab tests, and Children's for procedures requiring anesthesia.

Dana-Farber's procedure room now features special outlets and wall connections for anesthesia delivery and monitoring equipment. Jimmy Fund Clinic nurses trained at Children's to help patients recover from anesthesia, while Children's operating staff earned credentials at Dana-Farber so they can be available, if needed.

"Some patients undergo painful procedures, like lumbar punctures," says Jimmy Fund Clinic Medical Director Lewis Silverman, MD. "To alleviate pain, we've used either local anesthetics or short-acting sedatives. But for some patients, especially younger children, anxiety and discomfort are still a significant problem."

This is where Dr. Tassone's team helps. "We provide patients with comfort and safety by streamlining their procedures under general anesthesia at Dana-Farber," she says. "Thus, we're eliminating the need to move between institutions, coordinating multiple services more easily, and lessening the burden of a demanding OR schedule." "Our ultimate goal is that kids will associate these procedures with taking a nap," Dr. Tassone adds. "It's bad enough to have cancer; trauma associated with treatment can make it even worse. With general anesthesia, we can erase that trauma, so children don't have to carry it into the future."

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