Day of Surgery

Open Heart Surgery Handbook

If you are staying in the hospital the night before your surgery, your family should come to see you about 90 minutes prior to surgery (please be certain you and your family are aware of surgery time beforehand). During surgery, your family can wait in the Family Waiting Area, just outside the nursing unit. If you are admitted to the hospital on the morning of surgery, you will be informed about your arrival time during your preoperative class, which will be conducted the day you are scheduled for pre-admission tests.

Just prior to your surgery, you will be transported to the surgical suite, where your surgery will take place. Upon arriving at the operative theatre, you will meet the operating room nurses who will be directly involved in your care. They will ask you a series of questions, and briefly explain what you should expect over the next 15-20 minutes (before you are given the general anesthetic). They will try to ease your mind so you will not be surprised by the activity in the operating room prior to your receiving the anesthetic.