Things to Do During the Recovery Period After Heart Surgery
After bypass surgery or other heart surgeries, one stays in the intensive care unit for one night and then the patient is taken to bed. I have listed below for you the points to be considered during the recovery period at home after being discharged from the hospital after the surgery.
The recovery period may take 6-8 weeks after discharge from the hospital until the complete healing of the sternum bone. In general, patients are called for control one week and one month after discharge. During this period of approximately 2 months, the general condition of the patient may fluctuate. So from time to time you may feel bad and sluggish yourself. Don't worry about it. During the recovery period, it is important for the patient to carry out the recommendations with self-confidence, as well as worthy.
Patients are made a bed and they will probably receive visitors in the hall. Stay away from such a situation. Sleep in your own room and bed. Do not stay in bed all day. This creates a risk for clots in the leg veins.
VISITORS:
Restrict patient visits as in the hospital. Talking on the phone is enough. It is important for the patient to protect himself in terms of infection. Accept a small number of short-term visitors.
Remember that visitors are particularly vulnerable to flu and flu, for your defense system that has not yet recovered. You can use a mask during visits.
We know that some of our patients experience distress due to various reasons during visits. This is also a point to keep in mind.
SMOKING:
Smoking patients may have a smoking crisis after they go home. During this period, there may be cough and sputum because the lungs do not work at full capacity. During this period, smokers sabotage themselves. Some patients think that they can smoke now that they feel a full recovery at home. This is inconvenient. Even one cigarette can make you relapse into your habit. Do not hesitate to use a nicotine patch. The cigarette is finished for you truck. Even if there are smokers in the house, chase them to the balcony.
HEALING OF THE CHEST BONE
A pillow is given after heart surgery. A chest corset is used next to the pillow. The purpose of all this is to ensure the healing of the breastbone. It should be laid on the back and left and right for at least six weeks. It is also recommended that patients do not lift weights.
With this pillow, you need to protect your sternum, especially when getting up. While getting up, protect your bone by using the pillow with your hand. You need to use your hands carefully and get support. Avoid sudden movements.
Don't forget that the ends of the bone must be fixed and opposite each other in order for it to fuse. In rare cases, if this bone does not fully fuse, if it stays in a constantly moving position, the steel wires used will cut the bone and you may need surgery to rejoin and suture the bone. Even the talk of "re-operation" immediately depresses patients.
This does not mean that the whole operation will be renewed. Only the bone is replanted. Today, this is easily done with an advanced technique. If the bone does not fuse, they do not fully heal in the lungs and may cause shortness of breath.
RIB PAIN AFTER HEART SURGERY
This pain is more It is related to the place where the tube is inserted. Since the sternum bone is also cut, there may be chest or rib pain with breathing and movement during the recovery period. It's about movement. If you unintentionally breathe less and shallowly because of pain, then there may be deflating and sputum accumulation in the lungs. I explained this issue about lung exercises.
ARCUSSION SOCKS
Compression stockings are recommended for patients who have had vein removal from the leg during the recovery period. Groin type stockings are given regardless of the location and length of the removed vein. This stocking is protective for both circulation and clot formation in the leg.
As the use of stockings can irritate leg wounds in the early period, they can be worn on the dressing or if you do not stand too long, they can be used on the condition of lengthening the feet. may not be used. The important thing here is not to stand too long and not to hang the feet. There may be swelling in the legs. It is recommended to use the socks for 10-12 weeks while actively standing. If only the veins up to the knee are removed, compression stockings below the knee are recommended. You should remove the compression stockings at night.
POLLOWING LEGS ON THE LEGS AFTER HEART SURGERY
Swelling in the legs after bypass surgery, especially in the leg where the vein was removed is normal. Since one of the systems that allows the blood to go up is removed, the other system is trying to adapt itself to the new situation. If you stretch your feet and do not hang them, the swelling will decrease and you should use compression stockings as long as you stand. That's why diuretics are given. This is where the excess in your weighing comes from. It disappears over time. If it does not disappear, then if it is accompanied by shortness of breath, you should consult your doctor.
CLEANING
Wound cleaning is important. All wounds should ignite cleanly. Wounds are usually open when discharged after surgery. We should say that the wound healing is theoretically completed in 48 hours.
Wound sites are on the sternum, on the legs, and on the arm if the arm vein is removed. In addition, there are a total of two tubes, one under the breastbone and on the left side of the chest, placed in the lung cavity, and a dressing around them. Wounds on the sternum and arm heal fastest. When the leg is a little more mobile, the wounds may heal later. Here, attention should be paid to the moving areas, knees and wounds in the groin area in terms of hygiene.
FLOW AT THE SEWING SITE AFTER HEART SURGERY
If the seams If there is discharge, continue dressing in accordance with the recommendations of your doctor. Sometimes there may be discharge from the chest or side tube site. If this discharge is clear and odorless, there is no need to be afraid. In this case, the dressing should remain dry and should be changed frequently when wet. These currents decrease over time.
WATER COLLECTION IN THE LUNG AFTER HEART SURGERY
If there is a discharge from the tube located on the side of your chest, there may be fluid accumulation in the lung. These patients are described as "collection of water in the lungs". If the left mammary vein is used, blood is collected there or from other places. This blood decomposes from its shaped elements over time and turns into serum. In general, the color of the discharge is light red or yellow red. This is nothing to be afraid of. It is seen in patients with varying degrees. In this patient, it causes shortness of breath as well as discharge. This fluid can also be seen easily in the lung film to be taken.
The treatment of water collection in the lung depends on the amount of fluid collected, first it is tried to be drained with diuretics, if it does not, it is withdrawn with a needle or a tube is inserted again and emptied. The accumulation of water in the lung is shown below as a graphic and lung film. Black areas are lung tissue and air, and white areas are blood or fluid. The black arrow shows the place where water is collected in the lung. This gravity is collected below and at the edge of the pressure properties of the lung.
The figure below represents needle discharge.
If flow if it looks too much, smelly, or inflamed , culture of the wound and appropriate antibiotic therapy is necessary. If there is a fire, do not waste time. Some suture and wound infections do not cause problems if treated early. If it is delayed, there may be an opening at the seam. In such a case, hospitalization is required. Inform your doctors about these developments.
LUNG EXERCISES
You should not use the "triflo" breathing exercise device you use in the hospital, and you should continue at home as well. . Set a rule for yourself. You should do it 20 times every two hours. You must lift all three balls at a time. The more you do this the more Your lungs expand that much.
Cough may occur due to the sputum accumulated when breathing exercise, in this case, remove the sputum. Sputum production after heart surgery This is more common in smokers. The more cigarettes you smoke, the more phlegm you will produce. This sometimes takes us long enough to surprise us.
After the surgery, the lungs do not work at full capacity, they remain a little deflated, and the lungs become fully inflated with this device.
If part of the lungs remains deflated, it is called atelectasis . Lung fluid and sputum accumulate in the atelectasis deflated lung areas, causing infection and fever. This is a situation that we do not like and requires the patient to be re-bed. The picture below shows the situation where one lung is fully inflated and the other lung is deflated.
WALK
It is recommended to rest at home until the first week after discharge. They can spend most of their time sitting and putting their feet on a coffee table between the sofa and the bed, without sleeping on the quilt mattress at home. It is useful to go to the toilet and kitchen, and to take a walk in the corridor.
It is appropriate to go out to the balcony depending on the temperature for fresh air. If the weather is nice, you can also spend time on the balcony.
After the first control, a short-distance 15-minute walk is taken once a day, preferably in the morning before it is too hot, with an accompanying person.
A further 15 minutes is added in the evening before it comes out every day. The patient himself should increase it gradually. It is preferably increased for five minutes.
It is not correct to walk fast, run and force uphills to test yourself. In the future, exercise for 2.5 hours per week and 20 minutes per day is recommended to prevent heart disease. Our patients can comfortably walk much longer distances. The important thing here is not to increase your heart rate immediately. First, lengthen the distance slowly, then you can increase your speed.
SLEEPLEESS AFTER HEART SURGERY
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