Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 2/3/2008

Question
My daughter is going to be getting an MRI and will be sedated. I was told she would only receive inhalation anesthetic but I am afraid she will receive general anesthesia as well. She is 6 months old. Should she get both? Or one or the other? I have read about babies receiving both the mask and the IV anesthesia. Why would they get both? Is it dangerous to get both? What will recovery be like?

Answer
Usually for babies we do a general anesthetic as sedation is not enough to keep babies from moving and you need to be still in the MRI. An inhalational anesthetic and an IV anesthesia are basically the same. In babies and children we do an inhalational anesthetic so that they are asleep when we put the IV in (that way they have no pain when we put the needle). After the IV is in, we keep them anesthetized with both IV and inhalational anesthesia. Neither one is dangerous (if your child is otherwise healthy) and recovery should be quick (although babies tend to be cranky for 24-48 hours after surgery).

Hope this helps,

Ronald Levy, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston