Preparing for Surgery
Throughout your journey, your care team is there to support and guide you, as well as answer any questions or concerns you have.
Before your surgery, doctors called anesthesiologists will visit you. They are responsible for keeping you asleep during surgery. You will not feel any pain while you are asleep. All you will remember is traveling down to the operating room.
Your Surgery Day
How is the VAD implanted in the chest?
The surgery can take all day. The surgeon performs a sternotomy, which involves opening the chest, cutting away the diseased ventricles and valves, and connecting the TAH-t to the upper heart chambers (or atria). This will leave a scar on the chest. A heart and lung bypass machine is required to circulate your blood during the surgery.
