Heart Transplants: What to Expect While Waiting & Post-Op | Cincinnati Childrens

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Nurse Practitioner Shelly Stark gives a tour of the heart transplant process at Cincinnati Children's.

"Hi, I'm Shelly Stark, a nurse practitioner here at Cincinnati Children's hospital. I will be walking you through a tour of what it's like to go through the heart transplant process.

Waiting is often the most difficult part of the heart transplant process.
You're always wondering when that organ will come.

Wait lists and times depend on several factors, including age, weight, blood type and distance.

Frequent lab work and clinic visits may be required prior to transplant.

Remember, there is no traveling outside a 4-hour driving distance from Cincinnati Children's hospital while on the waiting list.

Also, remember to notify your provider if you're ill or having symptoms.

We will notify you when we accept and organ. We will then give you information about when to stop eating and how to prepare for the surgery. You will then be admitted to the CICU.

Please keep in mind that once the doctors get to the donor hospital and see the donor heart, they may determine that it's not good for transplant. However, if they feel like it is good, we will move forward with the surgery.

You'll recover here, in the CICU. You can expect a lot of lines, tubes and a breathing tube. But don't be scared, this is just so the doctors can monitor you closely.

It will take you a little while to recover from surgery. You may feel nauseas and not want to eat. But that is OK. Give yourself some time, and it will improve.

You will have to be on a lot of medications, some even for the rest of your life.

Post transplant, you'll have to stay within 9 miles of Cincinnati Children's hospital for up to three months. Following that, your normal life can start to resume.

Please contact us at 513-803-2997 with any questions you may have, or visit us at http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org