Exact Answer: After about 2 days
It’s about one day or two days in the intensive care unit (ICU) after the surgery. Then you will be transferred to the regular surgical ward. The aortic valve is present in the heart which separates the ventricular passage and the aorta. It is very important to regulate the blood flow incorrect direction and inhibits the backflow of the blood to the left ventricle.
There are many diseases related to the Aortic valve due to which people go for surgery (repair or replacement) of the Aortic valve. The first choice is the aortic valve repair and then the replacement but there are certain circumstances where u can’t go for valve repair. It’s up to Doctors who will do certain examinations and will advise which surgery is best for that.
How Long In ICU After Aortic Valve Replacement?
| Condition of patient | Time |
| Normal cases | 2 days |
| In cases of complications | 7 days |
Although the treatment plan is a bit clumsy and needs a period to recover it is very common nowadays. When you discover that your valve is malfunctioning and your doctor suggests you for surgery then naturally u have lots of questions around your mind. The question may include the risk factors, the restations post-operation, the time duration of recovery, pain management, etc. All these queries will be solved by your doctor before the surgery so don’t take this as a headache.
At first, one needs to have the proper knowledge regarding the cause of the aortic disease. Mainly the heart disease may occur due to congenital heart disease and other causes are due to aortic valve stenosis or regurgitation. In congenital heart disease cases, the patient is having an improper shape and size of the valve which creates a problem during pumping and flow of the blood from the ventricle. If the person is suffering from aortic valve stenosis, either of both of the cusps of the valves of the heart may have thickened. Those cusps may even have got stiff which may be the result of narrowing of the opening of the aortic valves. This may result in a blockage of blood flow through the valves.
Where in the case of valve regurgitation the blood from the aorta flows back to ventricles due to improper closing of the valve. In all cases, a doctor will decide the plan of treatment. Not all the malfunctioning valves will indicate a replacement they may need some repair. When you go for a repair this will be less clumsy and the natural functioning and parts will intact, but in case of replacement, the whole defect valve will be replaced by an artificial one.
Why Should One Stay So Long In ICU After Aortic Valve Replacement?
Immediately after the surgery, the patient will be administered to the ICU ward, where the patient will be connected through a ventilator so you wouldn’t be able to drink and eat further it will be replaced by an oxygen mask. In the first 2 hours after surgery, you will keep asleep or unconscious. your nurse and doctors keep on monitoring the heart, lungs, and bodily functions. After the results of the test, the patient would be taken to the surgery ward as and when advised by the doctor.
Whenever he thinks you are ready for that. This stay at ICU is about 2 days in most cases. Even after shifting to surgical wards, there will be several tubes and monitoring devices attached to your body for few days so don’t afraid of that. These may include chest drains, pacing wires, wires attached at center pads, and a catheter. Always stay positive so that your family can get relief looking you happy. The whole medical team by working together focuses on bringing back to normal walking talking life. They look after how to increase the appetite. there will one cardiac rehabilitation team that will help you to get back to life.
Above all the question of your discharge comes then, you will be discharged soon after you come to a stable condition. However, the exact time when the patient would be ready to move out of ICU depends on the rate of recovery of the patient. However, generally, the patients are released within a week or even sooner if the patient is in a progressive condition. On improvement of the situation, you will be discharged from the hospital soon. After returning home, you need to start walking and gentle exercise but in a slow process. Don’t try to do too much of anything, doctors can give you the instructions to follow.
Conclusion
Aortic valve replacement operation is a major operation, so there are some side factors are there which include pain and discomfort, swelling and redness around your face which will eventually fade away with time, loss of appetite is seen in most of the cases. Some other side effects like insomnia, and constipation may be found.
Talk to your doctor or nurse about how to deal with this, they can help you to get over this. Don’t be panic because these symptoms are seen in most major operations. Overall the treatment plan depends upon the type of surgery you have gone through. Your doctor will prescribe some post-operative medicines including painkillers which should be taken according to the prescription.