Memorial Heart & Vascular Institute - Planning Your Stay

Instructions Before Surgery
If you're an adult having heart surgery (CABG or valve surgery), you will be instructed to make a pre-surgical appointment with the Memorial Heart & Vascular Institute at least one day before your scheduled surgery. During this appointment, lab work will be drawn, forms and consents will be signed and a nurse will talk to you and your family about what to expect during your stay in the Heart Institute.

The day before your surgery…any rules?

You can call the Memorial Heart & Vascular Institute to set up a pre-op visit. During the visit, a nurse will draw you’re your pre-op labs, your EKG and x-rays are done and you are seen by a nurse practitioner and one of the Institute’s Mended Heart volunteers for pre-op education. We encourage a family member to be present so they have the information as well. Allow two to three hours to complete the pre-admission process.

What To Expect On Surgery Day

• You will need to check in at the reception desk on the third floor north wing
• A nurse will take you to a changing area to change into a hospital gown
• You will be admitted into the waiting area of the cardiac procedure unit
• Up to three family members can stay with you in the waiting area
• In the waiting area, an operating staff person will review your paperwork with you and clean and clip the operative area (if you are a man)
• Once you’re prepped for surgery, you will meet with your anesthesiologist and then you’ll be taken to the operating room
• Your family will be directed to wait in the main lobby on the first floor to check in with front desk
• The attendant will give your family an identification number and throughout the surgery you will be paged by the nurses in the operating room to let you know how the surgery is progressing
• During the last update call, your family will be asked to return to the third floor, where the surgeon will talk with them about the surgery

After Surgery

• Following surgery you will be admitted directly into the intensive care unit on the third floor
• Your family will be able to see you approximately one hour after they’ve spoken to the surgeon
• Only two immediate family members per patient are allowed in the ICU and visits are limited to approximately 10-15 minutes per hour

Download Patient Forms
Complete a number of forms to bring in prior to your stay.

Get Patient Forms