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\nLearn about recovery from surgery and possible surgery-related complications like blood clots or infection.
\nYour hospital stay after surgery could last a month or more. Recovery time after TAH surgery will depend a lot on your health before the surgery.
\nRight after surgery, you will be moved to the hospital\u2019s intensive care unit. You may still need a ventilator to help you breathe. For a while, you may receive fluids and nutrition through a feeding tube or an intravenous (IV) line in your arm. Your healthcare team will monitor another IV line in your neck or your leg to evaluate how the TAH is working. You will also have a tube inserted into your urinary tract to drain urine and to evaluate how your kidneys are working.
\nAfter a few days or more, you will be moved to a regular hospital room. Nurses who have experience with TAHs and similar devices will take care of you. The nurses will help you sit, get out of bed, and walk around. Most patients are able to get up and move around after two weeks. Nurses and physical therapists will help you gain your strength through a slow increase in activity.
\nMedical staff will perform exams such as blood tests as well as chest imaging tests, including CT scans, x rays, and echocardiograms (ECG or EKG). Since most of the heart has been removed, electrocardiograms, heart monitors, and procedures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation will no longer be useful.
\nOnce you become stronger, your healthcare team will remove your feeding, IV, and urine tubes. You will be able to begin eating regular food, go to the bathroom on your own, and take a shower. You will also learn how to care for your TAH at home.
\nDuring your recovery time in the hospital, you may enjoy visits from family or friends. These visitors can help you with various activities. They can also learn how to care for the TAH so that they can help you when you go home.
\nRead Living With for more information about living with and caring for your TAH.
\nAs with any surgery, there are possible surgery-related complications after getting a TAH such as blood clots, bleeding, or infection.
\nBlood clots
\nBlood may clot more easily as a result of the contact with the man-made parts of the TAH. Blood clots can block blood vessels that deliver oxygen to important organs in your body and can cause severe complications such as stroke; a type of venous thromboembolism called pulmonary embolism; or death. For this reason, you need to take anticlotting medicine as long as you have a TAH.
\nBleeding
\nThe surgery to connect a TAH to your heart is very complex. Bleeding can occur in your chest during and after the surgery. Anticlotting medicine also raises your risk of bleeding, because it thins your blood. Balancing the anticlotting medicine with the risk of bleeding can be hard. Be sure to take your medicine exactly as your doctor prescribes.
\nInfection
\nAfter surgery, you will be at risk for infection, so your doctor may prescribe medicine to reduce this risk. Your healthcare team will watch you closely for fever or other signs of infection. Other complications may develop:
\nOther complications
\nThe medical team will also watch you closely for the possibility of other complications including:
\nDuring the TAH surgery, there is a risk of dying. There is also a risk that your body may respond poorly to the medicine used to put you to sleep during the surgery.
\nRead Living With to learn more about possible complications of living with a TAH.
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