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How Long Does Open Heart Surgery Usually Take

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Can Babies Have Open Heart Surgery

What to Expect-Open Heart surgery

Babies can suffer from various types of heart defect even before they are born. Open heart surgery on babies can be performed at any age. Some heart defects are more severe than the others and open-heart surgery for children can be operated in various methods it usually depends on the degree of the condition. Basically, the procedure is quite similar to that of adults.

Beyond 6 Weeks Of Recovery

If you had open heart surgery and the surgeon divided your sternum, it will be about 80% healed after six to eight weeks. By that time, youll generally be strong enough to get back to normal activities such as driving, Dr. Tong says. You can probably also return to work, unless your job is physically strenuous.

Most importantly, this is the time to start a cardiac rehabilitation program.

This is a monitored exercise program designed to increase your hearts endurance. Through cardiac rehabilitation, you can gradually increase your activities, and your doctors will watch your progress closely. Youll also learn more about how you can change your lifestyle and diet to keep your heart healthy.

Working through a cardiac rehabilitation program is the best way to find out when youre strong enough to resume the more strenuous activities you enjoy.

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How To Prepare For Heart Bypass Surgery

Talk to your heart doctor about your questions or concerns. The more you understand, the less worried you will feel.

If your doctor recommends a heart bypass, theyll give you lots of information on how to prepare. You may need to attend an information session where youll find out more about bypass surgery and how to plan for it.

If your surgery is booked in advance and isnt an emergency procedure, youll usually have several doctors appointments before the operation. This is when youll be asked about your health and family medical history. These appointments are important times to ask questions and understand your surgery, how to prepare for surgery, and what to expect afterwards. Bringing a family member or a support person to these appointments is often a good idea so they can help you understand the process and provide you with support.

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Continue Learning About Heart Surgeries

Important: This content reflects information from various individuals and organizations and may offer alternative or opposing points of view. It should not be used for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. As always, you should consult with your healthcare provider about your specific health needs.

Preparing For Open Heart Surgery

Heart Bypass Surgery: Preparation, Recovery, Long

Heart surgery corrects problems when other treatments dont work or cant be used for some reason. The most common type of heart surgery for adults iscoronary artery bypass grafting. In bypass surgery, arteries or veins are removed from elsewhere in your body and grafted to reroute blood around a clogged artery to supply blood to your heart muscle.

Your health care team which may include surgeons, cardiologists, anesthesiologists, nurses, and therapists will discuss your operation with you. Theyll welcome your questions.

If your heart surgery is planned, and not an emergency, youll meet first with your doctor and health care team. Theyll tell you what to expect and how to prepare. Before your surgery:

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Can All Mitral Valves Be Repaired

The simple answer is no, however its important to remember that in the right hands, the majority of valves can be repaired. The things that may prevent a valve from being repaired include, too large a heart, a very degenerated and calcified valve and a rheumatic heart valve. There may be a lot of mitral annular calcification making it difficult. Experts can repair even some of those. Importantly some experts may say that a replacement is preferable because although the valve can be repaired in the short term, the likelihood of recurrence is so high that a replacement makes more sense. A surgeon with a proven track record of repair and appropriate experience should only make that decision.

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Are There Any Potential Problems Or Complications Of Tetralogy Of Fallot Surgery

Although surgical treatment of tetralogy of Fallot is very effective in repairing structural defects and blood flow through the heart, it can cause some persistent abnormalities in heart function. If these problems arise, they can be treated with additional surgery.

Many adults who have tetralogy of Fallot repair do not need further surgical treatment. In a study published by the Canadian Network of Adult Congenital Heart Disease, only 10 to 15 percent of people needed repeat surgery over a 20-year period.

Possible complications associated with surgical repair of a tetralogy fallot include:

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How Long Does Heart Valve Surgery Take Asks Shirley

By Adam Pick on September 10, 2008

I really appreciate patients that actively prepare their caregivers and their support group for heart surgery.

Earlier today, I opened an email from Shirley that reads, Adam At 62, my prolapsed mitral valve is worn out. Im going in for surgery to replace my mitral valve next week. I want my husband and children to know how long they may be in the waiting room So, how long does heart valve surgery take usually?

The really tough part about answering Shirleys question is that there are many variables to each, particular heart valve surgery. For that reason, my standard response to this question is, It depends.

For example, my double heart valve surgery lasted 3.5 hours from the time I entered the operating room to the time I checked-in to the intensive care unit . Alternatively, I know of several patients that had surgeries well over 10 hours due to heart surgery complications.

That is why I hesitate to give a specific answer to the question, How Long Does Heart Valve Surgery Take?. However, if I was really pressed to answer this question, I would estimate between 3 and 5 hours.

Keep on tickin!

How Is Tetralogy Of Fallot Diagnosed

How long does it take to recover from Heart Surgery? – Dr. Raghavendra Chikkatur

This complex set of defects causes the body to suffer from a lack of oxygen. The reason is that not enough blood flows into the pulmonary artery to take oxygen from the lung, and the blood flowing through the aorta to the body is poor in oxygen.

In most cases, the defect is so severe when the baby is born that the lack of oxygen causes a bluish color to appear in the baby’s skin, lips and fingernails. Cyanosis usually worsens gradually during the first few weeks of a child’s life. Tetralogy fallot is usually diagnosed very early in a child’s life, but it may not be diagnosed for a few months or even several years.

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Is Pregnancy Safe For Women Who Have Had Tetralogy Of Fallot Surgery

Women who have had a tetralogy fallot surgically repaired and are considering becoming pregnant should see an adult congenital cardiologist and an obstetrician who specializes in caring for women with special medical conditions.

With proper prenatal care and close monitoring, most women with repaired tetralogy of Fallot are able to become pregnant and give birth safely. An obstetrician, in consultation with an adult congenital cardiologist, can help determine the risks in connection with pregnancy.

What Happens During Open

Heart surgery is complex. Some surgeries may take six hours or longer. You will receive anesthesia and be asleep during the procedure.

Surgery steps vary depending on the heart condition and procedure. In general, your surgeon:

  • Makes a 6- to 8-inch long incision down the middle of your chest.
  • Cuts the breastbone and spreads your ribcage apart to reach your heart.
  • Connects the heart to a heart-lung bypass machine, if youll have an on-pump surgery. An anesthesiologist gives IV medication to stop your heart from beating and monitors you during the surgery.
  • Repairs your heart.
  • Restores blood flow to your heart. Usually, your heart starts beating on its own. Sometimes, the heart needs a mild electrical shock to restart it.
  • Disconnects the heart-lung bypass machine.
  • Closes the breastbone or other incision with wires or sutures that remain in your body.
  • Uses stitches to close the skin incision.

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What Happens After Open

When you wake up after surgery, you will have two or three tubes in your chest. These are to help drain fluid from the area around your heart. You may have intravenous lines in your arm to supply you with fluids, as well as a catheter in your bladder to remove urine.

You will also be attached to machines that monitor your heart. Nurses will be nearby to help you if something should arise.

You will usually spend your first night in the intensive care unit . You will then be moved to a regular care room for the next three to seven days.

Taking care of yourself at home immediately after the surgery is an essential part of your recovery.

What Is Heart Bypass Surgery

25 Images How Long Does Open Heart Surgery Usually Take

Heart bypass surgery is when a surgeon takes blood vessels from another part of your body to go around, or bypass, a blocked artery. The result is that more blood and oxygen can flow to your heart again.

Imagine youâre on a highway. An accident causes traffic to pile up ahead. Emergency crews redirect cars around the congestion. Finally, youâre able to get back on the highway and the route is clear. Heart bypass surgery is similar.

It can help lower your risk for a heart attack and other problems. Once you recover, youâll feel better and be able to get back to your regular activities.

Youâll still need a healthy diet, exercise, and probably medicine to prevent another blockage. But first, youâll want to know what to expect from the surgery, how to prepare, what complications can happen, and what the recovery is like.

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What Happens After Heart Bypass Surgery

Youâll wake up in an intensive care unit . The breathing tube will still be in your mouth. You wonât be able to talk, and you’ll feel uncomfortable. Nurses will be there to help you. Theyâll remove the tube after a few hours, when you can breathe on your own.

During the procedure, the medical team will probably have put a thin tube called a catheter into your bladder to collect urine. When youâre able to get up and use the bathroom on your own, theyâll remove it.

They also attached an IV line before the surgery to give you fluids and medications. Youâll get it removed once youâre able to eat and drink on your own and no longer need IV medications.

Fluids will build up around your heart after the procedure, so your doctor will put tubes into your chest. Theyâll be there for 1 to 3 days after surgery to allow the fluid to drain.

You may feel soreness in your chest. Youâll have the most discomfort in the first 2 to 3 days after the procedure. You will probably get pain medicines for that.

Youâll also be hooked up to machines that monitor your vital signs — like your heart rate and blood pressure — around the clock.

You should be able to start walking 1 to 2 days after surgery. Youâll stay in the ICU for a few days before you’re moved to a hospital room. Youâll stay there for 3 to 5 days before you go home.

How Is Tetralogy Fallot Surgically Treated In Adults In Turkey

Surgical repair of tetralogy of Fallot is complex, delicate and highly technical, and must be performed by a surgeon who specializes in adult congenital heart disease. The process includes a combination of techniques to fix all four defects.

For a complete repair, the surgeon closes the ventricular septal defect with a patch. The exit passage from the right ventricle is opened, and the pulmonary valve is repaired or replaced. The pulmonary arteries of both lungs are dilated, and sometimes a tube is placed between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery to improve blood flow.

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Open Heart Surgery What To Expect As A Patient

Diagnosis Most patients will see a cardiologist first who will diagnose their problem based on their story, physical exam, and tests. Multiple tests may be required including echocardiograms, CT scans, and a heart catheterization. Once the diagnosis and the need for open heart surgery have been determined then the patient is referred to a cardiac surgeon for an evaluation.

Meeting the Surgeon Surgeons will often be suggested by the cardiologist depending on their referral patterns however often patients will select their own surgeons based on other recommendations or their own research. Once this is decided the patient will go and meet the surgeon in clinic. Here the surgeon will talk with the patient and review the testing. Based on this meeting a surgical recommendation can be made and operative risk and suitability can be determined. In many cases the surgeon may ask for further testing to be performed.

Details of the Operation

Making the Incision In the case of classic open heart surgery, the breast bone will be split open using a saw. Alternative approaches may use incisions to the side of the bone between the ribs or through some of the ribs on the side. In robotic heart approaches, no large incisions are made, and small tubes are inserted through which the operation is performed, sometimes called keyhole surgery.

The heart lung bypass machine.

The Operation Itself

open heart surgery beating heart with a bypass

open heart surgery sternal wiring

How To Prepare For Open

Pain Control after Cardiac Surgery

Tell your doctor about any drugs you are taking, even over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and herbs. Inform them of any illnesses you have, including herpes outbreak, cold, flu, or fever.

In the two weeks before the surgery, your doctor may ask you to quit smoking and stop taking blood-thinning medications, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen.

Its important to talk to your doctor about your alcohol consumption before you prepare for the surgery. If you typically have three or more drinks a day and stop right before you go into surgery, you may go into alcohol withdrawal. This may cause life-threatening complications after open-heart surgery, including seizures or tremors. Your doctor can help you with alcohol withdrawal to reduce the likelihood of these complications.

The day before the surgery, you may be asked to wash yourself with a special soap. This soap is used to kill bacteria on your skin and will lessen the chance of an infection after surgery. You may also be asked not to eat or drink anything after midnight.

Your healthcare provider will give you more detailed instructions when you arrive at the hospital for surgery.

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What To Expect Of The Day Of Surgery

You should prepare to stay in the hospital for approximately seven days after your surgery. It is helpful to have someone at the hospital for support for some of this time.

After you check-in, you will go to a preoperative area where you will be instructed to change into a hospital gown.

You will meet with a member of the anesthesia team and surgical team to go over the procedure and sign consent forms. You may be asked to provide a urine specimen.

Intravenous access is started in the pre-operative area. This will be used for anesthesia, antibiotics, and blood products.

How Open Heart Surgery Is Done

Open-heart surgery begins with putting you under general anesthesia. This is performed by an anesthesiologist who is a member of your medical team. The medical team also includes a surgeon, cardiologists, nurses, and therapists.

An open-heart surgery involves cutting through the chest bone and operating the incision through a 6 to 8-inch incision. Basically, open-heart surgery is performed on-pump meaning the surgeon operates while the heart has stopped beating. In this technique, a heart-lung bypass machine is responsible for adding oxygen to the blood, keeping the blood warm and moving. The medical team will do its best to ensure blood loss is as limited as possible. However, many cases might need a blood transfusion during and after the surgery.

The most common type of open-heart surgery is coronary artery bypass grafting or CABG. The method involves grafting a healthy artery usually from the legs or the arms. This healthy artery can be attached to the hard and narrow vein. As a result, fresh blood can bypass the block and reach the heart with more ease.

When the procedure is over, the surgeon will close the incision. The breast bone is usually closed using wires. For closing the original tissue, sutures or stitches are used.

After the open heart surgery, you will wake up with several tubes in your chest, intravenous lines in your arm, thin tubes in your bladder, and tubes that attach you to machines monitoring your heart.

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Why Do I Need Heart Bypass Surgery

Bypass surgery treats symptoms of coronary artery disease. That happens when a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside the arteries in your heart and blocks blood and oxygen from reaching it.

Your doctor may suggest heart bypass surgery if:

  • You have severe chest pain that your doctor thinks happens because several of the arteries that supply blood to your heart are blocked.
  • At least one of your coronary arteries has disease that’s causing your left ventricle — the chamber that does most of your heart’s blood pumping — to not work as well as it should.
  • There’s a blockage in your left main coronary artery, which gives your left ventricle most of its blood.
  • You’ve had other procedures, and either they haven’t worked or your artery is narrow again.
  • You have new blockages.

Coronary artery disease can lead to a heart attack. It can cause a blood clot to form and cut off blood flow. Bypass surgery can give your ticker a big health boost.

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