Doctors get creative to distract tech-savvy kids before surgery

Surgery can make anyone anxious, but it is especially hard for young children. Kids going into surgery may be separated from their parents for the first time in a frightening new environment, and they may not understand what's happening.

"For many families and kids, this is one of the most stressful events in their entire lives," said Dr. Sam Rodriguez, an anesthesiologist at the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif.

Panicking before surgery can cause both physical and emotional problems. If children are crying, for example, they're sucking air into their stomachs, which increases the risk that they'll aspirate saliva into their lungs. Anxiety before surgery can also cause long-term psychological distress and behavioral issues in kids, and it's been associated with a more painful recovery.

Many children are given an anti-anxiety medication before general anesthesia. But that carries risks.

"Anytime we can decrease exposure to a medication, especially in a young child who has a developing brain, it's preferential to use some of these non-medication techniques," said Rodriguez. He wanted to come up with a safer, cheaper and more entertaining alternative.

So Rodriguez and his co-worker Dr. Thomas Caruso began tinkering with various pieces of technology.

Eventually, they came up with final product: a video unit they could mount on any hospital bed that projects an image onto a large screen hooked onto the bed right in front of the patient's eyes.

They called it BERT, short for Bedside Entertainment Theater, and it costs about $900 to build.

Matthew Husby, 10, recently tried out a BERT unit. An articulate redhead with a face full of freckles, Matthew has been sick since he was born with a rare genetic disorder that affects his mitochondria.

He's used to the surgical process. But even this pro still gets some butterflies right before surgery.

Rodriguez visits Matthew in his room and explains how BERT will work. Matthew is excited to pick his own video, and lands on an episode of the cartoon "Ninjago."

In the operating room, Rodriguez and the nurses move Matthew over to the operating bed and quickly move the projector unit as well. The movie is now projected onto the back of a surgical light above Matthew.

Rodriguez switches the movie from "Ninjago" over to one he's designed and edited himself. It's a compilation of clips from NASA, Buzz Lightyear and Minions, which together create a full blastoff experience.

Rodriguez counts down from 19. "All right let's get ready for our blast off!"

The nurses gather round the bed, shaking it.

"You feel it? Can you smell the rocket fuel? Take a deep breath, man. … Matthew, are you still with us?"

No answer. Matthew is asleep and ready for surgery.