Having successful heart surgery in this day and age is a very common occurance thanks to the breakthroughs in medical science over the past several years. However, there are still risks that can occur after having the heart surgery.

Just as with any type of surgery, there is always the risk of developing an infection after heart surgery. If there is continuous redness, bleeding or draining from the incision site, the physician should be notified because this could be a sign of an infection.

A very serious risk after heart surgery could be permanent loss of sight. This is a risk in other surgeries, also, however it is much more common after heart surgery. It is a very rare postoperative risk happening to only 9 out of 10,000 cardiac surgeries. The patients who are at the highest risk of vision loss are under 18 years old, It is also higher in men than in women, people that have several medical problems and those who have blood transfusions or anemia. Since this is such a rare occurance, it is seldom mentioned to the patient prior to his heart surgery, but the patient could go into shock by learning about this devastating risk after the surgery.

There is also a serious risk of developing atrial fibrillation after heart surgery. This means the heart may beat irregularly, too fast or too slow, and can change from one way to another. Often the heart feels as if it is just quivering instead of beating. This happens frequently in patients following their heart surgery. When this occurs, the physician can treat this problem.

Another risk that can occur after heart surgery is abnormal scar formation. This is not usually a serious risk and a consultation with a dermatologist and your physician should be taken before undergoing the surgery. The appearance of the scar is not as important as the success of the heart surgery.

Wound breakdown can occur after heart surgery due to infections or excessive swelling. If the patient has a history of poor healing, this will more likely happen to them. This breakdown occurs with the skin and tissues do not grow back together properly. Sometimes another surgery is needed to correct this.

The most serious risks after heart surgery include heart attacks, strokes or even death. These unfortunate risks can occur, however, if the heart surgery is not performed at all, these traumas would probably occur even faster. When considering heart surgery, you must weigh the advantages against the disadvantages. If the patient needs heart surgery, apparently they have a serious cardiac problem, and would have a heart attack, stroke or die if they didn’t have the surgery.

All surgeries come with risks, but if the surgery is necessary for living, the risks may have to be taken.

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