Open-heart surgical procedures have been performed at Wuesthoff Hospital since April 1991. Dr. Sanabria and Dr. Sims provide exclusive cardiac surgical services to Wuesthoff Health System.

After being referred by your cardiologist to Dr. Sanabria and Dr. Sims, you will be scheduled for a consultation with one of the surgeons. At this time, a date will be scheduled for your surgery.

About our team

Our physicians and staff members are committed to the highest standards of quality care and take great pride in meeting your medical needs. Our physician board certification is just one of the many examples of our commitment to a higher standard.

Billing & Insurance Information

Although we accept a wide range of insurance plans, the managed cares industry is changing rapidly and as a result you should contact our office to verify coverage.

We automatically file all insurance claims for our services.

We request that patients bring their health plan cards with them to appointments.

We use the information on insurance cards to bill corresponding health plans directly.

CO-payments are expected to be paid at the time of appointment.

What to Expect

Several days before your surgery you will need to have blood drawn and possible other tests such as a chest x-ray, EKG, or ultrasound. This is all performed at Wuesthoff Hospital. During your pre-op testing, you will be given a tour of the open-heart recovery units by one of our rehabilitation specialist. Many of your questions can be answered at that time.

The night before your operation, you will be asked to shower with a special soap provided to you during the hospital tour. The morning of the surgery you will need to come to the hospital at 4:00 AM. You will go through the Emergency Room entrance and simply tell the person at the registration desk that you are there for open-heart surgery.

You will be taken to 2 tower. There you will be shaved and asked once again to shower. You will also need to sign consent forms for the operation. Family members can accompany you throughout this time.

If your surgery is scheduled as "first case" you will be taken out of the room at approximately 6:30 AM. You will be placed in the pre-holding suite where an anesthesiologist will place IV catheters and other appropriate monitoring devices. The operation will begin at 8:00 AM. Your family can remain in the Cardiac Surgery Unit waiting room.

It is customary to have the operating room nurses give occasional updates to your family members in the waiting room. We respect the fact that families are anxious and we do our best to keep "you posted."

After the operation, the surgeon will speak to the family. Family members may see the patient after the operation. The patient may still be unconscious on a respirator or awake but sedated (usually patients don't recall the initial family visits).

Some family members like to remain in the waiting room "around the clock", some go home. We encourage you to do whatever makes you most comfortable.

Post-Operative Expectations

• After surgery most patients will experience some degree of chest wall discomfort, usually treated with analgesics with good pain control.
• It is not uncommon to experience a tired and weak sensation. This is transient and can be expected with any major surgical procedure.
• After any surgical procedure it is common to experience loss of appetite, possibly nausea, and in some patients vomiting. all these are likely from anesthesia and the number of medications used.
• Changes in mental status or "mood swings' can occur and are also usually transient. A patient may experience agitation, confusion, anxiety or even depression. Patients over the age of seventy are more prone to these mood changes, but this can affect anybody.
• Weight gain from surgery is not uncommon and after surgery diuretics (medication to cause kidneys to eliminate water from the body) are given to the patient. Some patients may gain from five to fifteen pounds and sometimes even more

Hospital Length of Stay

• Patients are taken to the cardiac intensive care unit after the operation, where most patients remain for a minimum of 48 hours.
• Patients may have to remain longer if other problems are being addressed.
• Subsequent to the intensive care unit, patients are transferred to a cardiac monitored ward, where the patient has more freedom for activity and for family visitation.
• Most patients stay here from three to four days before discharge. Therefore, a typical open-heart surgery hospital stay is five to seven days .