How many times can a young child (5 yrs) be put under anesthesia in a short period of time? what are the long term effects of this?

Anesthesia: In the hands of a pediatric anesthesiologist your child should be safe and can be put to sleep as necessary. Long term effects are negligible.

Do not worry: There is not really a limit on anesthesia. There are limits on certain medications. Anesthesia in children has risks each time they go to sleep. But it sounds like the real question is if there is some cognitive or developmental delay that is seen. The answer is that most likely not but there is no great study to support it. I would not be concerned.

Long term effects: Of anesthesia on children with exposure is being researched, and there is some concern. However, if a child needs surgery. Those needs outweigh the theoretical risks of exposure. Children rarely have elective surgery.

See below: Most anesthesiologist do not like to do multiple anesthetics in the same day. However, there are some times when a patient has to have multiple procedures over several days. At tis point there is no definitive answer to your question as to wether this has a long term effect on the child. Talk to your doctor's about your concerns and see if the treatment plan can be modified.