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Objectives To report the epidemiology of obesity in a pediatric surgical population and determine whether obesity is a risk factor for longer anesthesia duration. Background Childhood obesity is a significant public health problem in the United States. Epidemiologic studies on pediatric surgical populations have been limited to states with very high prevalence of adult obesity ( Michigan, Texas). Data from other states and more recent data since 2006 are unavailable. Methods We examined anesthesia records for surgical patients age 2-18 years at Columbia University Medical Center from January 2009 to December 2010. Patients undergoing bariatric surgery or those with records missing preoperative height or weight data were excluded. Body mass index ( BMI) was calculated as weight (kg)/height (m2). BMI ≥95th percentile according to national growth charts were considered obese. Results We reviewed 9522 patients of which 1639 were obese (17.2%). The sex-age category interaction on obesity was not significant using logistic regression ( P = 0.11). Among surgical groups, the otolaryngology ( ENT) cohort had the highest obesity rate (21.7%, 360/1656). Obese children who had tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, or both did not have a prolonged anesthetic ( P = 0.33) or surgical duration ( P = 0.61) compared with nonobese children, adjusting for surgeon, season, surgical procedure code, and ASA status. Conclusion Children presenting for surgery, particularly the ENT cohort, have a high prevalence of obesity. Obese and nonobese children who had tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, or both had comparable durations of anesthesia. Therefore, obesity did not lead to longer anesthetic duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endoscopic laryngeal tracheal reconstruction was performed on a child with glottic stenosis and pulmonary arterial hypertension. The surgical repair was performed while delivering inhaled nitric oxide via the ventilating port of a suspension laryngoscope with the patient maintaining spontaneous respirations. The surgery was accomplished without complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]