Cardiac Surgery
Cardiac Surgery
Cardiac surgery is performed by specially trained cardiac surgeons and a surgical team at a hospital.
In most cases it is an open-heart procedure, meaning that the chest cavity is opened to access the heart directly. This allows the surgeon to perform necessary repairs or interventions to alleviate specific heart problems.
There are many types of cardiac surgery
- Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG): Commonly known as bypass surgery, this procedure reroutes blood around blocked arteries to improve blood flow to the heart.
- Valve Surgery: This includes repairs or replacements for damaged heart valves to ensure proper blood flow within the heart.
- Congenital Heart Defect Repair: Surgery to correct inherited heart defects, close holes in the heart, or reconstruct passages to improve circulation.
- Aorta and Arterial Surgery: This involves repairing or replacing the aorta and other major arteries.
- Pericardial Disease Surgery: Addressing issues with the pericardium, the protective sac surrounding the heart.
- Infection Treatment: Surgery for serious infections affecting heart tissue or valves.
You can be rest assured that cardiac surgery is meticulously planned and includes a team of highly trained experts, including the cardiac surgical team, anaesthetists, perfusionists, and intensive care nurses and doctors.
Preparing for your visit
The procedure will take place at a hospital. You will be given a check-in time and have a consultation with the surgical team, including the anaesthetist, before the procedure.
The duration of surgery can vary significantly depending on the patient’s condition and the complexity of the procedure. In addition to hospital preparation and recovery time, below are the approximate times for cardiac surgeries however, we recommend speaking to your specialist for a more informed understanding.
- Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG): Approximately 3 to 6 hours, depending on the number of arteries being bypassed.
- Valve Repair: Approximately 2 to 4 hours.
- Valve Replacement: Approximately 3 to 5 hours.
- Congenital Heart Defect Repair: Approximately 3 to 6 hours.
- Aorta and Arterial Surgery: Approximately 4 to 8 hours
- Pericardial Disease Surgery: Approximately 2 to 4 hours
- Infection Treatment: Approximately 3 to 8 hours
During the procedure, the heart is temporarily stopped, and a bypass machine is used to maintain blood circulation and oxygen supply to the brain and body. This allows the surgeon to work on the heart safely and effectively while all other organs are protected.
An anaesthetist will conduct a comprehensive assessment of your medical history, the requirements of the procedure and then provide their recommendation. There two types of Anaesthesia
- General Anaesthesia: For heart surgery, general anaesthesia is commonly used to ensure you are completely unconscious and pain-free during the procedure. The anaesthetist will explain how this type works, its benefits, and potential risks.
- Local Anaesthesia: In some cases, local anaesthesia may be used for specific types of procedures. Your anaesthetist will discuss these options if applicable. For major open- heart procedures this type of anaesthesia is not appropriate on its own and would be used in conjunction with general anaesthesia.
- Intensive Care Unit (ICU): The initial post-surgery recovery occurs in the Intensive Care Unit. For the first 4-6 hours you will remain anaesthetised with full life support until the team are happy to start turning off the anaesthesia drugs and allowing you to wake. Most people would then expect to remain in the ICU for 2 or 3 days for monitoring after their surgery.
- Cardiac Ward: After the ICU stay, people are transferred to the Cardiac ward, where the aim is to improve mobilisation and encourage physical recovery. Painkillers are taken away as tolerated, and other medications reintroduced as able. A usual hospital stay would be between 5 and 10 days for most open-heart procedures with Sternotomy.
- Post Discharge from Hospital: Most people are safe to return straight home from hospital after the initial stay. They will be able to feed, shower and dress themselves. They will need to start walking around and outside the house regularly and aim to increase the amount of walking over the first 6 weeks, so they are doing 30-45minutes 2 or 3 times a day. The amount depends on their ability and comfort levels. You should not be lifting anything heavier than 2 kg (think about a 2-litre milk carton) for the first few weeks after surgery and can slowly increase to 5 kg total around 6 weeks post. You should not do any housework for the first 6 weeks. Especially avoid vacuuming and sweeping. Don’t mow the lawn until you have spoken to the surgeon.
- Inpatient Rehabilitation: This usually occurs if somebody has limitations that make them unsafe for return home with their family, or if they have nobody who can come in and check on them after hospital discharge. Less than 10% of people will require inpatient rehab.
- Driving after heart surgery: You are not allowed to drive a car after heart surgery for the first 6 weeks, or until review and clearance by your treating doctor. This could be your surgeon or your cardiologist. You will not be covered by your insurance if something happens while driving before receiving a clearance. You don’t need to surrender your licence but do need to be sensible regarding this.
