Sacred Heart Medical Center was the first hospital between Portland and San Francisco to offer cardiac surgery. The cardiac surgeons at Oregon Heart & Vascular Institute continue to keep pace with the latest innovations in heart surgery, helping to make this one of the busiest and most successful cardiac surgery centers in the Northwest. |
Photo by Brian Davies of
The Register-Guard taken April 27, 2004 during an operative maze procedure.
Click to enlarge image. |
If you have been scheduled for cardiac surgery, such as for heart valve repair
or coronary artery bypass surgery for coronary artery
disease,
the cardiac nurse educators and the rest of the heart team will explain exactly what to expect, including day–by-day details of a
typical cardiac surgery hospital stay. Some things to think about before you arrive:
- Cardiac surgery procedures usually last from three to six hours.
- The average length of stay in the hospital after surgery is four to five days.
- You will need someone at home to help you for at least one week after surgery. We encourage you to have that person with you most of the time for the first week after discharge. You will continue to need help for the next four to six weeks with lifting, house cleaning, laundry and driving. It is very important that you make plans for someone to help you as you recover. Tell your nurse if you need help making plans for discharge.
- Please send all valuables and clothing home with your family before surgery. This includes all rings, including wedding rings. You may keep glasses, dentures and hearing aides.
- The surgeon will visit with family members in the Intensive Care waiting room after the surgery is over when you (the patient) are settled in the Intensive Care Unit.
- You will be seen by one of the cardiac surgeons each day. It may not be the surgeon who performed the surgery; however, each surgeon is familiar with all cardiac surgery patients. You will be seen by your surgeon about six weeks after you are discharged. If an appointment is not made at discharge, please contact the surgeons’ office at 686-1737 to arrange an appointment.
- Before discharge from the hospital, the nurse educator will contact you to schedule a home instruction class. This class is for the person who will be helping you at home after discharge.
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Cardiac Surgery
A Typical Hospital Stay
Cardiac surgery
patient rests
in the Progressive Cardiac Unit (PCU)
with a heart pillow |
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The Hospital Stay
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Team Members
Involved in Your Care
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| Day 1 |
Patient has chest pain.
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Patient goes to the hospital emergency room.
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Emergency Medical Doctor |
Patient undergoes diagnostic
tests
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Lab/Diagnostic Technologists |
If tests are positive for serious heart disease, patient is admitted to Progressive Cardiac Unit.
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Nurses |
Patient goes to Special Procedures Room for a cardiac catheterization.
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Cardiologist |
| If blockages in the arteries are found that can’t be fixed by angioplasty, patient is sent to Cardiac Surgery Unit to prepare for open heart surgery. |
Educators, Radiologist,
Chaplains |
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Day 2 (Surgery) |
Patient goes to Operating Room.
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Cardiac Surgeon, Anesthesiologist, Physician Assistant, Cardiac Surgery Team
Members |
After surgery, patient goes to Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.
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Nurses, Lab Technologists, Radiologist, Pharmacists,
Respiratory Therapists |
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Day 3-6 (Recovery) |
Patient is transferred back to Cardiac Surgery Unit to begin recovery after heart surgery.
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Nurses, Dietitians, Lab and Diagnostic Testing Technologists, Educators, Cardiac Rehabilitation Team Members,
Radiologist |
If there are no complications after heart surgery, patient is discharged on the fifth day after surgery.
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