Managing the Complicated Post-operative Course

The key to successfulPost-operative course management of any patient in the Cardiac Critical CareCardiac critical care Unit (CCCU), particularly those who develop a more complicated post-operative course, is attention to detail and anticipation. Safe management of post-operative patients begins with an organized transition of care from the surgeons and anesthesiologists to the CCCU team. A detailed handover of the patient’s pre and intraoperative course, including anesthetic, surgical aspects, echocardiographic findings and an overall impression from the operating room team of the salient physiological observations. The understanding of how specific lesions, operations, and types of cardiovascular physiology affect the postoperativePostoperative course is a key element. Therefore, it is essential to know every aspect of the patient starting with the preoperative status, intraoperative issues, and postoperativePostoperative concerns. There are also lesion-specific issues and common postoperativePostoperative complications that the intensive care physician should be familiar with.