The Heart Center at Children's Memorial Hospital

After cardiac surgery: the basics of heart care at home

Our son, Colin, underwent open heart surgery at 18 days old. Read more.

If your baby is less than 3 months of age and he or she develops a fever higher than 101 degrees F that does not decrease with acetaminophen or continues to recur, call us
If your child has no signs of a cold, and has a fever higher than 101 degrees F for two consecutive days, call us

Also call us if your child experiences any of the following:

Avoid people who have active colds or illnesses. Encourage hand washing with all visitors and family members.
Your child may participate in quiet activities. If there is one flight of stairs in the home, your child may climb them, preferably with a parent close by.
Your infant should not require restricted activity. No immunizations until six weeks after surgery. If your infant has a problem with his/her heart that can cause him/her to turn blue, they should not be allowed to cry for extended periods of time.
For the first month after surgery, avoid large crowded areas such as grocery stores, malls or movie theaters to avoid exposure to common illnesses, like colds and the flu.
For the first six weeks after surgery, avoid strenuous activities (i.e., cycling, swimming, or roughhousing).

Your child can return to school as early as two weeks after coming home from the hospital. At your follow-up visit, ask about the return to school. Consider starting with half days, and working up to full days.
We recommend keeping your child out of day care for at least two weeks, preferably four weeks, to avoid exposure to common illnesses, like colds and the flu.
Your child should not participate in physical education for at least six weeks, or until a doctor or nurse practitioner gives them the OK to do so.

Your child may eat the same foods they did prior to surgery unless otherwise specified. It is a good idea to limit the amount of salt in the diet, which causes the body to retain water.

Steri-strips (paper tape) hold together your child's incision. Be sure to keep these strips dry. Young children may have sponge baths and older children may shower if they can keep the steri-strips dry. After one week, steri-strips will be removed during your follow-up visit.

Once the steri-strips are removed, wash the incision with soap and water daily.
If the incision is draining, cover and change bandage daily.
Avoid overstretching the incision for at least two weeks after discharge from the hospital.
Encourage your child to stand up straight, as they may tend to bend forward to protect the incision.
If your child's incision is under their arm, also encourage use of the arm on the same side as the incision.
Protect the incision from direct sun exposure; use clothing and sun block (SPF of 15 or greater).