Breathing during surgery, and for a while after surgery, is assisted through a tube that has been placed down the patient's throat and positioned in the lungs. Patients wake up with this tube still in position. It is removed as soon as the patient is stable and awake enough to breathe on their own. Patients cannot talk while this tube is in place. Other tubes exit the chest wall near the heart to drain extra blood and fluid from the surgical area.
Intravenous lines give fluid, blood, and medications as needed.
A bladder catheter drains urine. A monitor shows the heart rate, heart rhythm, blood pressure, and other special pressures and waves that the nursing staff watches closely to assess how the recovery is going. Medications are given as needed to ease pain and anxiety. Every patient recovers at a different rate. Tubes are removed as recovery progresses.