What To Expect After Total Artificial Heart
Surgery
Recovery in the Hospital
Recovery time after total artificial heart (TAH)
surgery depends a lot on your condition before the surgery.
If you had severe
heart
failure for a while before getting the TAH, your body may be weak and your
lungs may not work very well. Thus, you may still need a
ventilator
(a machine that helps you breathe) after surgery. You also may need to continue
getting nutrition through a feeding tube.
Your hospital stay could last a month or longer
after TAH surgery.
Right after surgery, you'll be in the hospital's
intensive care unit. An intravenous (IV) line will be inserted into a vein in
your arm to give you fluids and nutrition. Youll also have a tube in your
bladder to drain urine.
After a few days or more, depending on how quickly
your body recovers, you'll move to a regular hospital room. Nurses who have
experience with TAHs and similar devices will take care of you.
The nurses will help you get out of bed, sit, and
walk around. As you get stronger, you'll be able to go to the bathroom and have
a regular diet. The feeding and urine tubes will be removed. You'll also be
able to take a shower. You'll learn how to do this while taking care of your
TAH device.
Nurses and physical therapists will help you gain
your strength through a slow increase in activity. You'll also learn how to
care for your TAH device at home.
Having family or friends visit you at the hospital
can be very helpful. They can help you with various activities. They also can
learn about caring for the TAH device so they can help when you go home.
Going Home
Activity Level
When you go home after TAH surgery, you'll likely be
able to do more activities than you could before. You'll probably be able to
get out of bed, get dressed, and move around the house. You may even be able to
drive. Your health care team will advise you on the level of activity that's
right for you.
Bathing
If you have an AbioCor TAH, you can shower or swim,
as long as the device is charged.
If you have a CardioWest TAH, you will have tubes
connected to a power source outside of your body. The tubes go through an
opening in your skin. This opening can let in bacteria and increase your risk
for infections.
You will need to take special steps before you bathe
to make sure the tubes going through your abdomen don't get wet. Your health
care team will explain how to do this.
Caring for the TAH
If you have an AbioCor TAH, you'll need to keep it
charged with its magnetic charger. When it's charged, you can do activities
that feel comfortable to you (as your doctor advises).
If you have a CardioWest TAH, it will be attached to
an external power source, or driver. The driver is portable, so you can walk
around and do activities with it.
Nutrition and Exercise
While you recover from TAH surgery, it's very
important to get good nutrition. Talk to your health care team about following
a proper eating plan for recovery.
Your health care team may recommend a supervised
exercise program. Exercise is very important to give your body the strength it
needs to recover.
During the months or years when your heart wasn't
working well (before surgery), the muscles in your body weakened. Building up
the muscles again will allow you to do more activities and feel less tired.
Ongoing Care
You'll have regular appointments with your health
care team. The team will want to check your progress and make sure your TAH is
working properly.
If you have an AbioCor TAH, your health care team
can check it remotely. This means that if you think something is wrong, you can
hook up the device to a computer with Internet access.
The computer will transfer data to your health care
team so they can see how your TAH is working. Certain problems may require you
to see your doctor to have them fixed.
The CardioWest TAH can't be checked remotely.
With both types of TAH, your health care team will
explain warning signs. If these signs occur, or if you start feeling sick,
you'll need to see your doctor right away.
Cardiac Rehab
Your health care team may recommend
cardiac
rehabilitation (rehab). This is a medically supervised program that helps
improve the health and well-being of people who have heart problems.
Rehab programs include exercise training, education
on heart healthy living, and counseling to reduce stress and help you return to
a more active life.
Medicines
You will need to take medicine to prevent dangerous
blood clots for as long as you have a TAH. Regular
blood
tests will show whether the medicine is working.
You also will need to take medicine to try to
prevent infections. Your doctor may ask you to take your temperature every day
to make sure you don't have a fever. Fever can be a warning sign of
infection.
Make sure to take all your medicines as prescribed
and report any side effects to your doctor.
Heart Transplant
If you're on the waiting list for a
heart
transplant, you'll likely be in close contact with the transplant center.
This is because most donor hearts must be transplanted within 4 hours after
removal from the donor.
Some heart transplant centers give you a pager so
the center can contact you at any time. You need to be prepared to arrive at
the hospital within 2 hours of being notified about a donor heart.
Emotional Issues
Getting a TAH may cause fear, anxiety, and stress.
If you're waiting for a heart transplant, you may worry that the TAH won't keep
you alive long enough to get a new heart. You may feel overwhelmed or
depressed.
All of these feelings are normal for someone going
through major heart surgery. It's important to talk about how you feel with
your health care team. Talking to a professional counselor also can help. If
you're feeling very depressed, your health care team or counselor may prescribe
medicines to make you feel better.
Support from family and friends also can help
relieve stress and anxiety. Let your loved ones know how you feel and what they
can do to help you. |