How Long Does Open Heart Surgery Last
The duration of the open heart surgery depends on the actual procedure that is being performed. On average, the duration of this kind of surgery is around three or four hours. Besides the actual procedure, at least one hour before and one hour after the surgery will be necessary. The hour before will be used in order to prep the surgical field, administer the anesthesia and other things like that. The hour after the surgery is necessary for post-operative initial care. The duration of the surgery might increase if there are complications with the surgery.
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Who Needs To Have Heart Surgery
People with many different heart problems need heart surgery. These include blockages in the arteries that carry blood to your heart, valves that arent working right, and abnormal heart rhythms.
Usually, heart surgery is planned in advance as part of your treatment plan. This happens when your provider diagnoses a problem with your heart, and surgery is the best or only way to fix it.
Other times, heart surgery is an emergency treatment that comes up when you dont expect it. This can happen if you have a heart attack, or if youre diagnosed with severe blockages that put you in urgent danger.
Depending on the problem, you may not need surgery. Technology is providing us with innovative ways to manage heart disease. For example, percutaneous coronary intervention repairs blocked coronary arteries. Endovascular aneurysm repair repairs an abdominal aortic aneurysm through an artery in your leg.
These methods reduce your time in the hospital and make recovery easier. Theyre especially helpful for people who would face higher risks if they had surgery.
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:
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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.
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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.
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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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Care Of Your Incisions
As you heal, your incision will look better and the soreness will go away. Changes in the weather, too much or too little activity and sleeping in one position too long may cause increased soreness. You may also feel numbness or itching or see redness or swelling, which will also stop with time. To care for your incisions, we suggest:
- Wash gently with mild soap during your daily shower. Dry carefully with a towel. Pat it dry Do not rub the incision.
- If you have small pieces of white tape over your incision, you must remove them after you have been home for seven days. If the strips come off on their own, you may leave them off.
- If your incisions are puffy, have areas of redness, are oozing, or begin to open slightly, call your surgeon.
- Women should wear a bra. A good support bra will reduce the tension placed on the incision. If the bra bothers you, you may put a small piece of gauze under the bra for added comfort.
- For discomfort or soreness, you may use a heating pad. Apply it four or five times per day on the low setting for about 20 minutes each time. If needed, take pain medication prescribed by your doctor.
Impacts For Vascular Surgery Legs Recovery Time
Vascular bypass is performed on different parts of the leg, which in turn determines the length of the time surgery will take and the type of anesthesia used. The arteries targeted for bypass are in the hip, thigh, behind the knee, and the lower leg.
Most patients with PAD in the legs have already had at least one angioplasty, usually with stents or balloons, to try to open blocked veins and arteries. A bypass is usually required when the vein or artery can no longer remain open even with stents.
Recovery time for vascular surgery in the leg depends on factors that include overall patient health and the kind of anesthesia used. Some patients cannot tolerate certain kinds of general anesthesia, which reduces the choices available to the surgical team.
Surgeons can opt to use epidural or spinal anesthesia in bypass surgery in the lower leg. An anesthesiologist injects medicine into the spine to numb the patient from the waist down. It also allows for a faster recovery time than general anesthesia, in which the patient is fully unconscious.
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Breathing And Coughing Exercises
You will have some fluid in your lungs after the breathing tube is removed. If this fluid collects in your lungs, you could develop pneumonia. To prevent pneumonia, a respiratory therapist or nurse will help you learn deep breathing and coughing exercises. Do these exercises as you are told to. Holding a pillow tightly to your chest when you do your coughing exercises also helps. For breathing exercises, you may use a device called an incentive spirometer. Using this device helps your lungs recover. There might be phlegm or secretions in your throat, especially if you smoke. It can sometimes be difficult to get the phlegm or secretions out of your throat, but it is very important to do so. Your healthcare team may give you breathing treatments containing special medicine to help you get rid of the phlegm.
Your Eating Habits May Change
You may notice that youve lost your appetite or you just feel too tired to eat. This is common, so be patient. Your appetite will soon be back to normal.
We suggest you try eating frequent, small meals throughout the day. You need proper nutrition to enable your body to heal and get stronger.
We recommend a diet low in fat, cholesterol and sodium and high in protein. Good sources of protein include fish, eggs, dairy, beans and nuts. Limit the amount of salt in your diet to 2,000 milligrams a day. Foods known to be high in salt include restaurant food, soups, pizza, bacon and other processed meats.
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What Are The Risks
Most heart surgeries are major surgeries. Although often successful, they do entail risks. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute identifies some of these risks as:
- Damage to tissues in the heart, kidneys, liver, and lungs
- Death, especially for someone who is already very sick before surgery
The risk is higher if you have other diseases or conditions, such as diabetes, peripheral artery disease, or kidney or lung disease.
A Chest Pillow Is A Must
Having a pillow to stabilize your chest is a must. Most hospitals will send you home with one, but if they dont, make sure to get one. Chest pillows can help you when you sleep, sneeze, and cough they have has many uses. I had a pillow with me for almost a year after my last surgery and I still usee one during long trips in the car.
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Give Your Heart Time To Heal
Its important to remember that not everyone heals at the same rate. Health conditions such as diabetes or if you are on steroids can increase the time it takes your body to heal after surgery. Complete recovery takes about three to six months.
At any phase in your recovery, using common sense is the best way to keep yourself from overdoing it, Dr. Tong says.
If an activity causes pressure or pain, stop. If your sternum doesnt heal properly after surgery, it can cause you a lot of pain and complicate the healing process.
If you arent sure an activity is safe, check with your surgeon first. Contact your doctor right away if you experience:
- Redness on your chest larger than a quarter or drainage that resembles pus .
- A clicking noise in your chest when you cough or breathe deeply .
Overall, give yourself time to heal, while gradually doing a little more each week. Continue to work with your doctor until youre up to speed on your normal activities.
How Long Does Fatigue Last After Open Heart Surgery
A team of physicians and nurses will advise patients on what medications to take during recovery and also on what physical activity can be done. Its normal to feel tiredness and some pain. Each patients recovery time varies but you can expect it to take many weeks or months to return to previous levels of activity. Seek care and advise your medical team of any potentially serious symptoms of infection which include difficulty breathing, a fever, and excessive sweating.
Aftercare can also include blood tests, heart scans and regular stress tests which monitor the heart during treadmill exercises.
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What You Can Expect After Heart Surgery
Heart surgery, whether it be to repair or replace a valve, unblock an artery, or correct an irregular heartbeat, is serious business, with a fairly lengthy recovery time.
Broadly speaking, there are two basic types of heart surgery: Minimally invasive, involving smaller incisions to the side or front of the chest, or the standard open surgery, where surgeons cut through the middle of the breast bone with a special saw to access the heart. The latter involves more pain and a longer recovery.
Its a very major operation, says Reza Dabir, M.D., chief of cardiovascular surgery at Beaumont Hospital, Dearborn. And when we do minimally invasive, were trying to reduce that surgical trauma with smaller incisions that heal and help them get back to normal activities more quickly.
Heres what to expect after undergoing a standard heart surgery:
What Are The Most Common Complications During Cabg Recovery
When you are ready to go home, you will be given a list of medications and instructions to help you recover from your operation. You will likely have some new prescriptions, and you may be told not to take some of your old medications. This may seem a little overwhelming at first, but your nurse will sit down with you and go over the instructions in detail. If you have any questions, your nurse will be able to help make things clear before you leave.
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What Is The Survival Rate Of Heart Surgery
Heart surgery survival rates vary based on the type of surgery and how many problems are repaired during the operation. Survival rates are:
- Mitral valve repair for mitral valve prolapse: 100%.
- Aortic valve replacement: 98.1%.
- Coronary artery bypass surgery : 97.8%.
Heart surgery is generally riskier for people who are very ill or have other medical conditions.
How To Prepare For Open
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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How Long Does It Take To Recover From Open
You will most likely require observation in the hospital for about a week after an operation. Depending on your age and overall health, you may require a longer recovery time. It usually takes 6 to 8 weeks for the breastbone to heal, but it could take 2 to 3 months for you to feel normal again.
Youll learn more about yourself as you recover from your hospital stay and as you return home. The incision will be covered in a large bandage, and you will be able to breathe using a breathing mask. The length of the incision is what causes the pain associated with traditional open-chest surgery. When the line is placed into your artery, it may cause nerve interference and numbness in your chest, leg, arm, or hand. After surgery, you will be encouraged to sit up and walk for the first time. As soon as possible, patients with MIVS are encouraged to return to normal activities. When patients have minimal incision valve surgery, they usually require only three weeks to recover.
What Should I Expect During Recovery At Home After Heart Surgery
The first six to eight weeks after heart surgery are usually the most challenging. You may recover quite quickly if you were in good health before your operation. However, your recovery may be slower if you were very ill before surgery or if you experienced any complications after surgery.
Remember that you should see slow steady improvement as you recover. Call your family doctor if you have or develop any condition that seems to get steadily worse over three days.
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Managing follow-up appointments
What kind of follow-up appointments will I need after my heart surgery?
Once you are home from the hospital after your heart surgery, please arrange the following appointments:
- Within the first week you are at home, call to make an appointment to see your family doctor to have your sutures or clips removed. Remember to bring the removal kit you were provided with before you left the hospital.
- Your heart surgeon may see you two to three months after your surgery for a follow-up appointment. Please refer to your personal discharge documents for details. Call 604-522-6800 to arrange this appointment.
- You should also expect a call from a cardiac rehabilitation program. Referrals are made automatically when you are discharged and you do not need to initiate this call yourself.
Make an appointment with your family doctor if your incision continues to drain and/or you note any signs of infection.
When will my incision heal into a scar and how do I care for it?
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When Should I Call The Doctor
You should call your healthcare provider if you experience:
- Chest pain other than normal discomfort at the incision.
- Signs of infection at the surgical site, such as oozing and redness.
- Slurred speech or other signs of stroke.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Open-heart surgery is a life-saving procedure. But it is also a major surgery. Recovery can be long. When possible, you should take steps to improve your health like exercising, losing weight and quitting smoking before surgery. These actions may make recovery easier. Its normal to have concerns before undergoing a heart procedure. Dont hesitate to share questions and concerns with your healthcare provider.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 03/25/2021.
References
Getting Through The First Weeks At Home
The first few weeks after hospital discharge can be tough both physically and emotionally for many who have had heart surgery. Fear of pain, fatigue, worry, stress, or being overwhelmed about how to comply with drastic changes in lifestyle including a new diet may create common emotions like:
- Mood swings, Irritability, sadness, crying frequently
- Distressed about not yet being able to return to work
- Frustration about having strict activity limitations such as lifting and driving restrictions
- Difficulty concentrating, low or lack of energy, easily fatigued
- Intermittent pain with the need for pain medication
- Sleep disturbances
- Commonly symptoms of depression
If you go through some or all of these feelings it is important you remember that they are very normal and usually do not last long. A change in our health situation has an effect on our feelings too, not only on our bodies. You will experience good days and bad days. As you increase your daily activity, follow your exercise plan and get plenty of rest. This will help you to an emotional recovery as well.
Start seeing family and friends with visits limited to 15 minutes the first week at home. Talk over your feelings and progress with your loved ones. As you start feeling stronger and less tired, you can increase your time with visitors.
Pain medication
Most likely your cardiologist will prescribe pain medication for you to use at home. Make sure to follow the instructions strictly on how to take them.
Rest and Sleep
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Life At Five Months After Open Heart Surgery
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Blog Post by A.W.About this Blog
In this blog I will follow my everyday journey of living with familial hypercholesterolemia . I am sharing my own experience with this inherited disorder, and how I manage it daily from what literature I read on the topic and what my doctors say to how I live my life . This is solely a personal account that might or might not offer some insight on what to expect when diagnosed with this condition. This blog does not offer advice, in any way, to anyone suffering from this disease.
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