Are Anesthesia and Surgery during Infancy Associated with Decreased White Matter Integrity and Volume during Childhood?

Background: Anesthetics have neurotoxic effects in neonatal animals. Relevant human evidence is limited. We sought such evidence in a structural neuroimaging study.

Are anesthesia and surgery during infancy associated with altered academic performance during childhood?

Background: Although studies in neonatal animals show that anesthetics have neurotoxic effects, relevant human evidence is limited. We examined whether children who had surgery during infancy showed deficits in academic achievement.

Methods: We attempted to contact parents of 577 children who, during infancy, had one of three operations typically performed in otherwise healthy children.