Does anybody have an idea of how long open heart surgery takes and what its like?

my dad is 57 he will be having open heart surgery in the next months to change a valve. does anybody know app. how long it takes and what we should expect......thanks

First let me wish you all the best with your dad's surgery and recovery, then let me assure you heart surgery is nothing like it was in the past.
Today a patient is placed on bypass and will be out of surgery in 3-4 hours depending on the surgeon and amount of work that needs to be done. There are times that after the surgeon is into the surgery, he/she decides they need to do a little more while they are there. For example they may replace vessels while replacing the valve.
The time will seem much longer for the family in the waiting room.
The first time you see your father after surgery, it may seem pretty scary. There is a lot of machinary in the room but the machines are just to help the nurse take better care of the patient.
The recovery itself is amazing. My patients are off their breathing machines (ventilators) within 4-6 hours after surgery and are able to actually talk to family members although they will not remember this the next day.
By the morning after surgery, we have the patient up out of bed and they will be walking the halls by that night.
Now granted, this is assuming that everything goes without problem.
There are things the patient can do to speed their recovery.
These include deep breathing exercises before the surgery to have their lungs at their optimum.
Practicing changing positions while not using your arms is another thing that a patient can do before hand. This is very important in that you can not push with your arms after surgery in order to protect your surgical site. You can practice this by getting to a standing position from a sitting position while keeping your arms crossed across your chest.
Once a patient is up and walking, we are usually able to send them home in 3-4 days. The most important factor is the patients willingness to get moving and to follow instructions such as deep breathing and not using their arms.
Good luck with your dad and ask again if you have further questions.

I had a valve repaired on Valentines day last year. I'm a little younger than your dad, and they repaired my mitral valve. Stopped my heart, hooked me up to a heart lung machine, cut open my breastbone, then my heart, sewed a ring onto the valve, trimmed it, stiched everything back together, wired my breastbone up and sent me to post op in about 6 hours.

Was in the hospital for a week; and off the job and back at work in 30 days (a little faster than usual). Not allowed to handle anything that weighed more than 25 pounds for about 6 months.

Depending if anything else is found it can be between 2-5 hours. My daughter had open heart surgery in which they found complications and it ended up lasting NINE hours. Don't worry if they tell you one thing and it's not over at prescribed time. He'll be in good hands should anything happen.

It depends on how many bypasses need to be done,or if there is much damage around the valve,but believe this he will be on a respirator for 20-24 hours and then he will be up and walking in 30-36 hours.Expect soreness,numbness and fatigue.I have had five bypasses and he will be fine or they wouldn't attempt to repair valve.Email me if you want answers to specific questions.

it takes a while but ur dad wont feel a thing while surgery and he will be fine for sure also he will recover in no time

My mom just had five bypasses.

She went in at like 10-30 and by 5 or so, they were done. But the actual surgery, if I'm not mistaken, only took a couple of hours.

He's young. I know it's hard, but these kinds of things are getting to be very routine. Don't stress too much. I hope he gets well soon.

I'm sorry to hear that. I do not know; my dad had two Angioplasties done a few years back. He was back to work a week later and is now doing fine.

I know your dad's is more entailed, but, i wish him the same luck my dad had.

Best of luck.

鈾?Lily