Admission to the Hospital:

• If you are admitted the day before surgery, you may have a pre-operative work-up, which includes a medical history, physical examination and various tests. The workup provides surgeons with important information about your health before the procedure. You may meet with your anesthesiologist, the medical professional who will order and administer medications that will make you sleepy and groggy, but not completely unconscious, during the procedure. You may also attend a class or meet with a member of the surgery team to learn about the procedure, what will happen when you awaken and what to expect for the remainder of your hospital stay. 
• If you are admitted the day of your surgery, your surgeon’s office will coordinate your preoperative workup a day or two before the procedure. The anesthesiologist will meet with you and prescribe medications that will relax you and leave you groggy, yet still awake. 

The Day of Your Surgery 

• A member of the operating room team will prep you for surgery. 
• You will receive medications that will make you drowsy. 
• the operating room, you may feel slight discomfort as the anesthesiologist inserts IV (intravenous) lines. These lines deliver medication to put you to sleep and monitor blood pressure and pressure in your heart chambers. 
• After you are asleep, you will have a breathing tube inserted in your mouth or nose before the operation begins. 

After Surgery 

• You will be moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) after the operation. You may not wake up from the anesthesia for two to four hours. During this time, you will continue to breathe through the breathing tube with help from a ventilator. This will enable you to breathe easily and take good, deep breaths. With the breathing tube in place, you will not be able to talk. You may communicate with notes or shaking your head. Your hands will be restrained to prevent you from pulling the tube out. The tube will be removed when you are breathing well on your own. 
• You will have several other tubes attached as well, most of which are removed the day after surgery: 
  
  • A stomach tube, inserted through the nose down to the stomach. This tube prevents nausea and keeps air from bloating the stomach. You will not feel pain from the tube, but your nose may drip. 
  • A catheter (thin, flexible tube) inserted in your bladder that enables the care team to monitor your urine. You may have a normal urge to urinate while the catheter is in place. Once it is removed, you may feel a stinging sensation when you urinate. 
  • Chest tubes (there may be one or two), which are inserted at the end of the operation and drain fluid, preventing fluid from accumulating in the chest cavity. The chest tubes will be removed when the drainage stops. 
  • An arterial line (a plastic needle) in the radial artery of your arm which is used to draw blood samples, if needed. 
  • IV lines, which supply fluids, medications and blood as needed. 

Typically, On the Day After Surgery, You Will: 

• Learn deep breathing and coughing exercises – exercises that may be uncomfortable but that will not cause damage to your heart or incisions. 
• Sit up on the side of your bed. 
• Be given clear liquids. You will receive solid foods as you are able to tolerate them. 
• Be moved out of intensive care to another unit. You will wear a small, portable telemetry device that monitors your heart rate.

On the Second Day After Surgery, You Will: 

• Be expected to walk two or three times and eat while sitting in a chair. 
• Begin to eat solid foods as your appetite returns, but the amount you drink will be limited to six to eight cups of liquid over 24 hours