How to Prepare for Cardiothoracic Surgery: A Patient Guide
Cardiothoracic surgery preparation covers good nutrition, a calm hospital stay for children and a thorough consult with your surgeon. Learn what to do.
Thoracic and cardiovascular surgeons (also called cardiothoracic surgeons) perform procedures in the operating room, among other duties. But that does not mean you can't book an appointment with the doctor, especially if you are about to have surgery. So what preparation is needed for surgery, besides booking an appointment with the doctor?
Why Is Surgery Preparation Important for Patients?
Preparation before major surgery is a must for both the doctor and the patient, so that the operation goes smoothly and gets the best result. This is especially true for surgery on vital organs such as the heart and lungs. Heart and lung disease are also often congenital.
If a child already needs heart or lung surgery, it is the parents' job to help the child prepare. An important aspect is adequate nutrition, because this is major surgery and the body must be well prepared.
Read also: Why Doctors Recommend a Heart Echocardiogram
Eating nutritious food also improves the body's resistance to infection, since surgeries such as heart and lung surgery carry an infection risk. Then create a comfortable atmosphere at the hospital, including when meeting the thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon.
Discomfort only makes patients restless, which is not good for the operation. There are several things you can do to help a child adapt to the hospital, such as talking with the child, calming the child when tense, distracting with funny videos, and playing with other patients.
Have a Thorough Consultation
The most important step before surgery is a thorough consultation with the doctor. Not every patient who comes for surgery is in good physical condition, and sometimes physical problems arise that cause the operation to be postponed.
So make sure you attend a thorough consultation. Patients are usually asked to complete physical examinations such as a heart exam suited to the surgery, lab tests no more than 2 weeks before the day of surgery, a dental exam, and an ENT (ear, nose and throat) exam.
Read also: Symptoms of Heart Disease in Men and Women to Watch For
A thorough consultation helps the surgical team anticipate possible complications and risks of the procedure. That also reduces the number of unwanted events after surgery. So don't forget to report everything you feel to the thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon handling your case.
Major surgery can't be done carelessly, so both the doctor and the patient must prepare well so that the operation goes smoothly. To reduce tension, Heartology Cardiovascular Center (https://heartology.id/) can be chosen as a destination. This cardiovascular center has advanced equipment for a variety of surgical procedures.
At Heartology there are several teams of heart doctors ready to handle heart health problems, one of whom is dr. Dicky Aligheri, Sp.BTKV (K), a medical specialist in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at Heartology.
