“Is open heart surgery very painful?”
My friend is 48 years old and she will have open heart surgery. Is open heart surgery very painful?
5 Answers
Yes.
If the surgeon needs to expose the heart more than usual, then the anterior chest may be painful for a day or two but it will get better
The surgery itself is not, but there will be some discomfort afterwards for a week or so.
Yes, it is painful postoperatively. You’ll receive enough pain medication to reduce the pain.
Overall, I do not feel open heart surgery is painful, but the key will be the type of incision. Will it be a median sternotomy (cutting the entire breastbone), partial sternotomy, or small thoracotomy.
