Your Visit
At Kaweah Delta, our team works around the clock to make sure you receive
24/7 care before and after your heart surgery. Before you arrive, we would
like to give you the opportunity to learn about what will happen during
your visit and introduce the team that will be caring for you.
What to Bring
Patients should bring with them their home medications - the actual bottles,
along with any over-the- counter meds or vitamins they currently take.
This will help our nurses document a correct list of medications on admission.
Patients should not bring any valuables, including cell phones or computers.
These items are not allowed on our unit because they interfere with the
equipment used for patient monitoring.
Check-In
When you arrive for cardiac surgery, you must check in at the front desk
of the Acequia Wing (located along Acequia Avenue and Floral Street) before
you can come up to the 4th floor. You’ll be admitted there and escorted
up to a room on the 4th floor. Once your admission paperwork is done,
various tests may be completed such as lab and x-rays and you will meet
and be educated by a respiratory therapist regarding breathing exercises.
The registered nurse will show videos and explain in detail the processes
and care before and after surgery.
Your Surgery
On the day of your surgery, a registered nurse from our cardiac surgery
operating room and one of our surgical assistants will go to your room
and speak with you before your surgery. They will bring you to the operating
room, where you will receive anesthesiology care. From that point, your
heart team will take over to complete your procedure. Once your surgery
is complete you will be taken to the cardiovascular intensive care unit
for an overnight stay until you are stable enough to return to a room
on the fourth floor.
Meet Your Heart Team
It takes a team to provide great heart care. Here's a look at the people
who will work to make sure you receive great care during your stay.
Cardiac Surgeon: Cardiovascular surgeon performs operations on the heart and blood vessels
of the body. There are a number of different types of operations on the
heart, including replacement of heart valves, or bypasses of blocked coronary arteries.
Assistant Surgeon: Surgeon assistants provide help during an operation by performing a variety
of surgical tasks. In our program, it is a second Cardiac Surgeon.
Registered First Assistant: This person is a medical or allied health practitioner that provides
aide in exposure, hemostasis, and visualization of anatomic structures
during the course of a surgical operation.
Physician Assistant: This person is responsible for preparing you before surgery, provides
aide in exposure, hemostasis, and visualization of anatomic structures
during your surgical operation. The physician’s assistant also assists
in post-surgery care.
Registered Nurse Circulator: The circulating nurse is responsible for managing your nursing care as
you undergo an operative or invasive procedure. This person also coordinates
the needs of surgical team members and other care providers involved in
your procedure.
Surgical Technician: The job of the surgical technician is critical to the success of your
operation. This professional helps set up the operating room before surgery.
It is their job to make sure all equipment is working properly including
sterile and non-sterile operating equipment. It is also this person’s
job to make sure that everything is in place and organized so that he/she
can provide the exact tool needed in an efficient manner.
Perfusionist: The main responsibility of this specially trained health professional
is to support your physiological needs during surgery so that the cardiac
surgeon may operate your heart. This is accomplished through the utilization
of the heart-lung machine. The perfusionist is solely responsible for
the circulatory and respiratory functions of the heart-lung machine.