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My young patients fly into surgery dressed as superheroes. Surgery became a lot less scary for them.
A pediatric ENT surgeon in Brazil refused to operate unless parents could stay by a child's side until they were anesthetized. He then added superhero costumes.
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Dr. Leandro Brandão Guimarães, a pediatric ear, nose and throat surgeon in Brazil, spent years watching children enter the operating room crying and screaming.
Hospital policy kept parents out of the OR. The children were scared. The parents were scared.
Dr. Guimarães decided to change things. He refused to operate if parents were not allowed in the room before the child was anesthetized.
He wanted more. A friend in San Diego let children drive a small electric car into the OR. The idea was too expensive.
He wanted to give kids power. "I wanted them to feel like superheroes," he said.
He found a costume seller in Brazil and bought Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman and princess costumes out of his own pocket.