Play therapy: preparing the young child for surgery.

A child is not a miniature adult. His thought processes are pre-conceptual, pre-logical, and characterized by many fantasies. The child needs concrete information about his impending surgery: (1) what will happen; (2) what is expected of him; (3) that he is not to blame for his illness or injury, and (4) where the organ to be removed or repaired is located and that no other body parts will be harmed. Play therapy is an effective method for providing tangible information about the surgical experience and simultaneously decreasing the child's fantasies and fears about the surgery.