Going Home After Heart Surgery
Care | Diet | Activity | Behavior | Going back to school | Dental care | When to call the doctor
Care of Your Child's Incision
- Wash the incision (including steri-strips) and chest tube sites at least once a day with soap and water, dry thoroughly. The best way to prevent infection is to keep the incision clean and dry.
- Your child should take showers or sponge baths until all of the steri-strips fall off. Steri-strips should not be soaked in water.
- Steri-strips may start to fall off on their own after about a week. It is OK to remove them after they start to peel off. If they are not off by the time of your child's follow-up appointment, they will be removed at that time.
- Check the incision daily for signs of infection: redness, swelling, drainage, or fever above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Call our office if any of these signs are noted.
- Healing tissue is more sensitive to sun damage than normal skin. Clothing or a high SPF sun block should protect your child's incision when sun exposure cannot be avoided. These precautions should be taken as long as the scar looks pink (it will eventually return to their normal skin color).
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Diet
Infants
Your baby can take as much formula as he wants unless otherwise instructed. He may need extra calories because his heart may be working harder than most babies. If your baby needs a high-calorie formula, you will be given a recipe for the formula before going home. Limit feeding time to 30 minutes so your baby doesn't become overtired.
Toddlers, School-aged Children, and Adolescents:
Offer your child a regular diet unless otherwise instructed. Encourage a balanced diet of foods that promote healing: meats, milk, bread products, fruits and vegetables.
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Activity
Infants
Long bouts of crying may overstress your infant. Tend to your baby's needs quickly to prevent long periods of crying. Lift your infant by supporting his head and bottom with your hands for four weeks after surgery.
Toddlers, Preschoolers, School-age children, and Adolescents:
Most children will limit their own activity when they become tired. Inactivity should not be encouraged. However, your child should refrain from any activity that puts them at risk for falling or taking a blow to the chest incision for four weeks after surgery. This includes activities such as climbing, riding bicycles, roller skating or roller blading, and participation in gym class or contact sports (ask about specific sports at your follow-up appointment). Heavy lifting (anything over 10 pounds) should also be avoided. Adolescents of driving age should not drive a car for one month. Climbing stairs is not a problem. Swimming is OK once all of the steri-strips have fallen off.
Behavior
Due to your child's hospitalization and surgery, it is not unusual for him to go back to earlier childhood behaviors such as: bedwetting, awakening during the night, fussiness, nightmares, clinging to parents, etc. These behaviors usually go away within a short period of time. It is important to support your child during this stressful time but also to set appropriate limits.
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School and Day Care
Your child should not attend school or day care until after his follow-up appointment.
Immunizations
Children should not receive most immunizations for at least eight weeks after surgery. If your child has received blood products while hospitalized, a longer wait may be necessary. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommendations in The Red Book for immunizing children who have received blood transfusions. Ask your pediatrician or call our office if you have questions about specific immunizations.
Dental Care
Most children with heart defects require antibiotics prior to and after dental procedures to prevent infection. Please be sure to talk to your dentist and cardiologist regarding your child's dental care. Good dental hygiene and regular visits to the dentist are important since tooth decay can lead to heart infection.
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Questions / Concerns
The Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellow or the Cardiology Fellow on call are available 24 hours a day, 513-636- 4200 or 1-800-344-CHMC.
Call if your child has 2 or more of the following:
- rapid, heavy breathing
- excessive sweating
- extreme sleepiness
- unable to drink bottle for 2 feedings in a row
- puffiness of the eyes or face
- extreme irritability
- blueness of the skin
- fever above 100 degrees Fahrenheit
Important Phone Numbers
- Cardiothoracic Surgery Office: 513-636-4770
office hours 8:30 am to 5 pm, voicemail after hours - Cardiothoracic Nurse Practitioners: 513-636-4770
same hours as above - Hospital operator (5 pm to 8:30 am): 513-636-4200 or 1-800-344-CHMC ask for cardiology fellow on call
- Cardiology Clinic: 513-636-4432
hours 8:30 am to 5 pm, voicemail after hours
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Patient Education Program II 2210 10/98
Rev. 12/06
