Vascular Surgery Coronary artery bypass, the most frequently performed major surgery in the country, has a very high success rate. But it is a major operation, and patients and their families have a lot of questions about what to expect afterwards. Here are the answers to some of the more common questions. Following surgery, you are closely monitored for 24 to 36 hours in the intensive care unit, after which you are transferred to a regular hospital room.
Total hospitalization is generally four to six days.
About two weeks later you will begin a three-month postoperative rehabilitation and prevention program of supervised exercise, and dietary and lifestyle counseling. Three weeks after surgery, you'll be driving your car. At about two months a golfer can be back on the links. Just when you can return to work will depend on the degree of physical exertion it requires, but it will generally be within 12 weeks, and often much less. By the end of the three-month rehabilitation period, most patients will actually be in better shape, physically, than they were before the operation, as a result of the improved blood circulation to the heart and from their rehab regimen.