Open Heart Bypass Surgery Recovery

The Night Before Surgery

Usually, your surgeon and anesthesiologist will visit you the night before or early the morning of your surgery. Your doctor will confirm the time of the operation, review your medical history and do a final physical exam. Now is your chance to ask any last-minute questions or voice any concerns. The anesthesiologist will explain about the anesthesia used during surgery, ask if you have ever had problems with anesthesia during surgery, and how the respirator works.

Sometime that evening, youll shower or wash with a special cleansing soap. Your surgical site will be shaved. Shaving rids the body of as many germs as possible and prevents discomfort when bandages are removed. Do not put on any powder or lotion after you wash. And remember, if you feel tired or have pain or discomfort while washing, stop and call a nurse to help you.

Last, but not least, you must stop eating and drinking by mid-night, since anesthesia is safer on an empty stomach.

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.

What Should You Avoid Doing After Having Cabg Surgery

Your body needs quite a bit of time to heal after a major surgery like CABG. Its important to follow your care teams instructions and ask them when you have questions. They will likely advise you to avoid certain activities while you recover, some of which may include the following:

• It takes time for the sternum to heal. So for at least a couple of weeks after surgery, most people should avoid lifting, pushing, or pulling more than 10 pounds.

• You should also limit use of your arms to simple everyday tasks like getting dressed and playing cards. In other words, dont lift your arms above your head or behind your back.

• Dont drive for the first 2 to 3 weeks. This helps avoid injuring your chest, but its also because you may still be on pain meds and not feeling 100% yet.

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Second Day After Surgery

On the second day after your heart bypass surgery, you may:

• Walk two or three times with physical therapist and nursing staff.
• Begin to eat solid foods and resume normal eating patterns.
• Limit the amount of fluids you can drink .
• Sit upright in a chair for all meals.

You will usually be discharged three to five days after leaving the ICU. You will continue your recovery at home.

Showering And Incision Care

You may shower if your surgeon has approved this prior to discharge. Your incisions may itch or feel sore, tight or numb for a few weeks. Some bruising around the incisions is also normal.

• Use warm water.
• You may wash your incisions gently with soap and water, but do not scrub them.
• Pat your incisions dry.
• Do not take baths or use powders or lotions near the incisions.

You may have white pieces of tape on your chest. These are called steri strips. They will gradually fall off. If they have not fallen off in 7 days, gently wash your chest with soap and water and gently peel them off. You may have some bleeding if the strips pulled off any scabs.

If you find it more comfortable, a thin layer of gauze may be placed over the incision. Women may wish to place cotton or soft material between the bra and chest wall.

Incision Care

• Your skin is sealed within 24-48 hours after surgery.
• You may itch or feel sore, tight or numb for a few weeks. Some bruising around the incision is also normal.
• Avoid sun exposure for the first year
• Chest tube drainage Within the first week after surgery, fluid may leak out from your chest tube sites. You may cover the sites with sterile bandages. Call your surgeons office if have to change the bandages more than once/day.

Signs of Possible Infection

• Increased swelling/tenderness along incision line
• Persistent high fever

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Side Effects Of Surgery

After you have been discharged from hospital, you may experience some side effects as a result of the operation.

These can include:

Follow any advice that you have been given on discharge from hospital.

See a GP if you have:

• worsening pain in or around the wound
• redness and swelling around the wound
• pus or blood coming from the wound
• a very high temperature or you feel hot and shivery

Call NHS 111 or contact your local out-of-hours service if you’re unable to contact your GP.

The First Few Weeks At Home

During the first few weeks after hospital discharge, many people who have undergone heart bypass surgery:

• Experience low energy levels and feel fatigued frequently
• Have intermittent post-operative pain
• Need to continue taking pain medication, as ordered by the healthcare provider
• Are not yet able to return to work
• Have strict activity limitations such as a lifting and driving restrictions
• May experience sadness and mood swings
• Commonly have symptoms of major depression

Coping During the First Few Weeks at Home

You should rest often and sleep when you feel tired. Sleep will help your body recover and help to replenish your energy level. If you have trouble getting enough sleep at night, there are some things you can do to help, including:

• Be sure to establish a regular pattern of going to bed and getting up at the same time every day.
• If you have frequent insomnia, you may want to eliminate naps to ensure you are tired at night.
• Take your pain pills before you go to bed
• Be sure to sleep on your back for the first four to six weeks while your breastbone heals.

Coping with Pain

Pain after bypass surgery is common, some things you can do to relieve pain include:

Important Activity Warning

• Lifting objects that weigh over 10 lbs: This includes children, laundry baskets, trash receptacles and other objects.
• Driving: Even a minor car crash could cause the chest area to slam into the steering wheel.

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Three Months And Beyond

After three months, youll be able to engage in more rigorous and heavier exercise and activity. As always, be very mindful of how youre feeling and try not to overdo it.

At this point, youll be able to participate in a full range of workouts and sports, you can take on more strenuous home and garden projects .

In general, before starting up a new activity or taking up one that you used to do, ask your healthcare provider if its safe. Dont hesitate to seek out medical advice and/or help if anything seems off.

How Do I Manage Post

A cardiac anesthesiologist is also a pain management specialist for conditions related to surgery. Your anesthesiologist will talk to you about your options for managing post-operative pain. Before your surgery, the anesthesiologist may ask about your pain tolerance to help gauge how best to manage your post-operative pain, guiding decisions such as the proper narcotics dosage, the feasibility of nonnarcotic pain medication options, and the need for nerve blocks.

Although most heart surgeries are major surgeries, they are typically not a source of long-term pain. Even in the short term, the pain may be less severe than with operations on other areas of the body. Opioids are used when necessary, but there are many other pain management options, including:

• Lidocaine infusion

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What Conditions Are Treated By This Surgery

The condition thats most likely to lead to CABG is coronary heart disease, a group of conditions that includes heart attack and coronary artery disease. Other conditions under coronary heart disease include angina pectoris, which is chest pain caused by ischemia in your heart, and silent myocardial ischemia, which is heart ischemia without any symptoms.

Conditions that fall under coronary heart disease usually involve a narrowing of the arteries in your heart because of a buildup of a fatty, wax-like residue called plaque. As plaque builds up on the inside of your heart’s arteries, the arteries become stiffer and narrower. If an area of plaque breaks open, blood clots can form there and create blockages in those arteries. Those blockages cause ischemia in parts of your heart, which can lead to a heart attack.

Taking Part In Your Recovery

As you become more active, youll bet more involved in your recovery even while you are still in the hospital. Here are some things you can do:

• eat right healthy food helps you heal
• keep your lungs free of fluid, which can lead to pneumonia, by practicing your deep breathing and coughing exercises
• get out of bed as soon as you can so your muscles stay strong start slowly sitting on the side of the bed, then the chair, then short walks, then longer walks
• do the recommended leg exercises to keep your legs muscles strong
• wear elastic or support stockings if your doctor ordered them
• use a chair with a firm back when sitting with pillows on the chair arms raise your feet to the same height if your legs or feet swell, but dont cross your legs

Because of your surgery and limited movement right after, fluid can build up in your lungs. This fluid can cause pneumonia and keep you keep you in the hospital longer. Therefore, it is very important that you take deep breaths and cough often. You may be given an incentive spirometer to help you breathe correctly. To ease the pain in your chest when you cough, support your chest incision with a pillow or your hands.

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What Happens During Coronary Artery Bypass

Coronary artery bypass graft surgery requires a stay in a hospital. Procedure may vary depending on your condition and your doctor’s practices.

Generally, CABG follows this process:

You will be asked to remove any jewelry or other objects that may interfere with the procedure.

You will change into a hospital gown and empty your bladder.

You will lie on your back on an operating table.

The anesthesiologist will continuously monitor your heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and blood oxygen level during the surgery. Once you are sedated , a breathing tube will be put into your throat and you will be connected to a ventilator, which will breathe for you during the surgery.

A healthcare professional will insert an intravenous line in your arm or hand. Other catheters will be put in your neck and wrist to monitor your heart and blood pressure, as well as to take blood samples.

A catheter will be put into your bladder to drain urine.

The skin over the surgical site will be cleaned with an antiseptic solution.

Once all the tubes and monitors are in place, your doctor will make incisions in one or both of your legs or one of your wrists to access the blood vessel to be used for the grafts. He or she will remove the vessel and close those incision.

The doctor will make an incision below the Adam’s apple to just above the navel.

The doctor will cut the sternum in half lengthwise. He or she will separate the halves of the breastbone and spread them apart to expose your heart.

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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Should I Consider Coronary Bypass Surgery

Coronary bypass surgery treats blockages or the narrowing of one or more arteries that surround the heart. This operation aims to restore blood supply to the heart muscle.

Your doctor will likely suggest coronary bypass surgery if youâre experiencing:

• Severe chest pain: This may be caused by the narrowing of coronary arteries that supply blood to your heart muscle. Even while at rest, your heart muscle is short of blood.
• Coronary blockage or narrowing reoccurrence: If you had a stent placement or an angioplasty that didn’t clear the blockage or narrowing of one or more coronary arteries, coronary bypass surgery might be the best option.
• Heart issues: Your left main coronary artery supplies most of the blood to your heart’s left ventricle, also known as your heart’s main pumping chamber. When this is severely narrowed or blocked, the left ventricle may not be functioning correctly. Coronary bypass surgery can correct this. It can also treat more than one diseased coronary artery.â

In the event you have a heart attack, coronary bypass surgery might be necessary if you fail to respond to alternative treatments.

You May Experience Collarbone And Sternum Pain After Open

Sometimes you can have prolonged collarbone and sternum pain. Collarbone pain and sternum pain can be caused by the trauma of the surgery on your body or sternal wires. This pain can be sometimes helped with cardiac rehab or a resternotomy. However, make sure to communicate with your doctor about your pain to make sure its normal. After this past open heart surgery, Ive had a lot of pain and clicking in my shoulders and chest. Its caused a lot of chronic pain but working with physical therapy has helped me regain strength.

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When Can The Patient Start With Regular Exercise Routine After The Surgery

Regular exercise routine should be started after around 10 weeks of the surgery. Once the patient advances in the cardiac rehabilitation program, the heart becomes stronger to keep up and endure with the cardio. The patient can start enjoying jogging, golf, and even tennis if the patient wishes to do so. No matter what exercise, but it is recommended that the patient should indulge in any form of it for at least 30 minutes, five times a week. This keeps the patients heart healthy and under control and also provides the required rest.

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Why Might A Person Need Heart Bypass Surgery

When a material in your blood called plaque builds up on your arterial walls, less blood flows to the heart muscle. This type of coronary artery disease is known as atherosclerosis.

The heart is more likely to become exhausted and fail if its not receiving enough blood. Atherosclerosis can affect any arteries in the body.

Your doctor may recommend heart bypass surgery if your coronary arteries become so narrowed or blocked that you run a high risk of a heart attack.

Your doctor will also recommend bypass surgery when the blockage is too severe to manage with medication or other treatments.

A team of doctors, including a cardiologist, identify whether you can undergo open-heart surgery. Some medical conditions can complicate surgery or eliminate it as a possibility.

Conditions that can cause complications include:

In the past decade, more alternatives to heart bypass surgery have become available. These include:

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What Is This Procedure

Coronary artery bypass grafting is a surgery that restores blood flow to areas of your heart that arent getting enough blood. This surgery can improve your heart function and how you feel, especially when youve just had a heart attack or theres an increased risk for you to have one in the near future.

What Is The Fastest Way To Recover From Bypass Surgery

The fastest way to recover is to be patient with yourself. Take time to return to a normal routine dont try to rush it. Know that your cardiac care team cares about your recovery and is available to help you through this process.

Perhaps one of the most important steps to recovery is your outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program. This usually starts a few weeks after surgery. It includes guidance on exercise, nutrition, and lifestyle all the keys to heart health after CABG. The program is supervised by therapists who are specially trained to care for people with heart conditions.

In general, cardiac rehab programs last at least six weeks. But the length can vary depending on your needs. Its common to think its unnecessary or even too time-consuming. But we cant stress enough how important it is. Please speak with your care team if you have financial or other concerns.

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