After surgery, you will be sent to the Recovery Room and monitored there until the anesthesia wears off. You may have a breathing tube in your mouth that will be attached to a ventilator, in which case you will not be able to talk. As you begin to wake up from the anesthesia and are strong enough to breathe on your own, the tube will be removed.
You will then be transferred to the ICU, where you will be closely monitored by the transplant team. While in the ICU, it is important that visitors be limited to your immediate family. Because you will be at a higher risk for catching colds and other illnesses, we ask family members who are ill to wait to visit until they have recovered completely.
Post-operative Transplant UnitWhen your vital signs are stable, you will be moved from the ICU to a postoperative unit designed expressly for transplant patients. Here, you will be continuously monitored and other disciplines such as physical therapy, rehabilitation, and nutrition will become part of your care.
While on the unit, you will begin to learn about the medications that you will be taking for the rest of your life. You will need to understand the purpose of these medications before you are discharged from the hospital.
Regular Patient RoomWhen you no longer need close monitoring, you will be moved from the postoperative unit to a regular hospital room. Once here, you are encouraged to participate in daily living activities while being monitored by the healthcare team. Your immunosuppressive medications will be regulated to maximize their effectiveness and minimize the side effects.
There will be many things for you to learn prior to your discharge. You will receive a booklet describing specific restrictions and are expected to become familiar with its contents before you leave the hospital. The Transplant Team and nursing staff will review the material with you and answer any questions you might have. The entire length of stay in the hospital is approximately 7-10 days.
Going HomeAfter you are discharged from the hospital you will be seen in the outpatient clinic once or twice a week, depending on your day of discharge and your progress postoperatively. After that you will be seen weekly, then biweekly, then once a month for the first few months.
The NYU Transplant Team will follow you for the remainder of your life, along with consultation with your primary physician and specialists.
Prior to any clinic visit you will be instructed to have laboratories done. These blood tests will allow us to see if you are experiencing any rejection or complications from the immunosuppressive therapy. These blood tests will need to be done in the morning before you take your medication.
