Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsBefore the SurgeryDuring the SurgeryAfter the SurgeryNext in Open Heart Surgery GuideOpen Heart Surgery Risks and Complications
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Before the Surgery
During the Surgery
After the Surgery
Next in Open Heart Surgery Guide
There are several surgeries that are classified as open heart surgeries. While this form of surgery entails opening up a person’s chest with a large incision to expose and operate on their heart, what a specific operation entails from start to finish differs.
Here, the basic steps of open heart surgery are reviewed. While this gives you a good sense of what lies ahead, be sure to speak with your healthcare provider about whatyourprocedure will look like.
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On the day of your open heart surgery, you will arrive at the hospital, check-in at the front desk, and be directed to a pre-operative holding area.
Here you can expect the following:
When the surgical team is ready, you will be wheeled into the operating room on a gurney. Your loved ones will be asked to wait in a waiting room where they will be provided with regular updates on your status during the operation.
After you are asleep, the anesthesiologist will insert a tube down your throat into your airway. Thisendotracheal tubeis connected to aventilatorthat breathes for you during surgery.
Around this time, while you are asleep, your surgical team will also insert aFoley catheterin your bladder to drain urine. In some cases, your surgeon may place a thin tube called a Swan-Ganz catheter in your neck for heart monitoring purposes.
If you are undergoing a heart valve replacement or repair, the surgeon may place a transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) probe into youresophagus. This tool allows the surgeon to monitor the function of the valves during surgery.
Skin cleansing:A nurse or surgical assistant will clean the skin over your chest with an antiseptic solution. Other areas of the body that are being operated on (your leg or arm to obtain a blood vessel graft for a CABG, for example) will also be cleaned.
Chest incision:Using a scalpel, thesurgeon will make a large (approximately 8-inch) skin incision down the center of your chest wall.
Breastbone incision:The surgeon will then cut your breastbone (sternum) lengthwise in half using a special surgical saw. The breastbone will be separated and spread apart in order to expose the heart.
Operating on the heart:Depending on the type of open heart surgery being performed, various steps will occur.
Temporary pacemaker placement:Your surgeon may place temporary, thin wires onto the surface of your heart during surgery. These wires are then attached to apacemakeroutside your body.
Breastbone closure:The breastbone will then be sewn back together with small wires.Chest tubesmay be placed to drain blood and other fluids around the heart.
Muscle/skin closure:Muscles and skin are then closed with sutures. A sterile bandage is applied over the large incision site.
The length of time you can expect to be in the operating room depends on the specific type of open heart surgery being performed. A CABG, for example, takes about three to five hours.A heart transplant may anywhere between three to eight hours.
After surgery, you will be wheeled into apost-anesthesia care unit (PACU). Nurses will monitor your vital signs carefully as you slowly wake up from anesthesia.
When your vitals are stable, and you are awake (expect to still be drowsy), you will be wheeled into an intensive care unit (critical, surgical, or transplant, depending on the hospital).
If you underwent a heart transplant, expect to begin takingimmunosuppressantsright away. These medications prevent your body from rejecting your new heart.
Once your condition is stable and your Swanz-Ganz catheter, chest tubes, and pacemaker wires have been removed, if applicable, you will be moved to a regular hospital room.
Depending on the type of surgery you underwent, you can expect to stay in the hospital for around five to 14 days. Your stay may be longer if postoperative complications occur.
Once you are discharged from the hospital, you may go home, or you may go to a rehabilitation facility to regain strength after surgery. You will have various post-operative instructions to follow, and close adherence to them will be critical to your recovery.
A Word From Verywell
Being a major operation, it’s normal to feel apprehensive if you are undergoing open heart surgery. Try to remain focused on preparing for the surgery and the healing process. Educate yourself as much as possible and ask your surgical team lots of questions.
When a Loved One Is in the Intensive Care Unit
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.University of California San Francisco Department of Surgery.Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG).Johns Hopkins Medicine.Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery. 2021.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Heart Valve Repair or Replacement Surgery. 2021.Stanford HealthCare.During the CABG Procedure. 2020.Cleveland Clinic.Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery. Reviewed June 2019.University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.Heart Transplant Surgery: Preparation and Procedure. 2021.Massachusetts General Hospital, Corrigan Minehan Heart Center.Guide to recovering from heart surgery.Cleveland Clinic.Post Transplant Process & Recovery. 2021.
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.University of California San Francisco Department of Surgery.Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG).Johns Hopkins Medicine.Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery. 2021.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Heart Valve Repair or Replacement Surgery. 2021.Stanford HealthCare.During the CABG Procedure. 2020.Cleveland Clinic.Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery. Reviewed June 2019.University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.Heart Transplant Surgery: Preparation and Procedure. 2021.Massachusetts General Hospital, Corrigan Minehan Heart Center.Guide to recovering from heart surgery.Cleveland Clinic.Post Transplant Process & Recovery. 2021.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
University of California San Francisco Department of Surgery.Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG).Johns Hopkins Medicine.Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery. 2021.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Heart Valve Repair or Replacement Surgery. 2021.Stanford HealthCare.During the CABG Procedure. 2020.Cleveland Clinic.Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery. Reviewed June 2019.University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.Heart Transplant Surgery: Preparation and Procedure. 2021.Massachusetts General Hospital, Corrigan Minehan Heart Center.Guide to recovering from heart surgery.Cleveland Clinic.Post Transplant Process & Recovery. 2021.
University of California San Francisco Department of Surgery.Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG).
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery. 2021.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Heart Valve Repair or Replacement Surgery. 2021.
Stanford HealthCare.During the CABG Procedure. 2020.
Cleveland Clinic.Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery. Reviewed June 2019.
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.Heart Transplant Surgery: Preparation and Procedure. 2021.
Massachusetts General Hospital, Corrigan Minehan Heart Center.Guide to recovering from heart surgery.
Cleveland Clinic.Post Transplant Process & Recovery. 2021.
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