The nurse from the operating room will give your family a blue card with a phone number on it. The nurse in the operating room will record a message about your progress in surgery every hour. Your family can call the phone number from any phone in the hospital to listen to the recorded message. The nurse will also give you a phone number so that you can call from outside the hospital during the surgery if you need to.

Once your family sees you off to surgery, they will wait in the Surgical Heart Unit Family Waiting Room, near the CCU, on the second floor of the hospital. The operation takes about 4 to 6 hours, and it takes about 1 to 2 hours to get you ready for surgery. So, you will be gone from the room for 6 to 8 hours or longer. After the surgery is over, the surgeon will see your family in the waiting room.

Once the surgery is over, you will be taken to the CCU (Surgical Heart Unit). The nurse will need about an hour to check you over and get you settled before your family is allowed to visit.

When your family sees you for the first time, you will probably still be asleep. Your family will see the breathing tube in your mouth. Your family will also see the tubes in your chest that drain the surgical area, and a lot of equipment and monitors in your room. You may look pale and your face, hands, and feet may look swollen. All of this is a normal part of the recovery from heart surgery.

Visiting hours in the CCU are open to your close family members. You will need a lot of rest while you are in the CCU. So you may not want many visitors other than your close family during this time. However, visiting is not allowed at change of shift from 7:00am - 8:00am and 7:00pm - 8:00pm. Visiting is closed for one hour whenever a patient comes from surgery into the CCU. When visiting is not allowed, a sign is posted at the doors into the unit.

Elect a spokesperson for your family. The Spokesperson should be the only person who makes phone calls to the nurse in the CCU. The Spokesperson will get updates on your condition and then give the information to the rest of your family. This system allows the nurse to give as much time as possible to caring for you and will keep your family informed.

Once you move to the Telemetry Unit, your family will be encouraged to spend more time with you. The family is an important part of your recovery. Family members may assist you with bathing, walking, and breathing exercises under the supervision of the nurses.

Click here to return to the Patient and Family Guide to Heart Surgery.