About your heart
What Happens After Surgery
If your child undergoes an operation during his/her hospitalization, he/she will likely return to the Pediatric Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit (PCTU) for a period of time with some or all of the following to help with his/her recovery:
- Chest tubes to drain any fluid that collects around the heart or lungs
- External pacer wires that provide an opportunity to pace the heart as necessary
- Intra-cardiac and intra-arterial catheters for pressure monitoring
- Intravenous catheters for medications and blood draws
- Mechanical ventilator to provide breathing support
- Medicines to support the patient's blood pressure
- Pain and sedation medications to provide comfort
- Urinary catheter to monitor urine output
If a patient requires additional stabilization after returning to the PCTU from the operating room, the patient's bed space and any adjacent bed spaces will be unavailable for visitation for approximately one hour or longer. This is to ensure patient safety and to help us evaluate and stabilize the patient, obtain initial tests, and double-check all of the indwelling catheters, medications and ventilator settings.
About the Pediatric Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit
The PCTU (POD A) is a separate 15-bed facility currently located on the fifth floor in the C. S. Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan. The PCTU is a state-of-the-art medical and surgical intensive care unit dedicated to the management of infants, children and young adults with congenital heart disease or heart disease acquired during childhood.
The PCTU is an area of constant activity with critically ill patients where our number one priority is to provide safe and effective patient care. In addition, we strive to work with our families in order to provide a comforting and supportive environment.
We invite you to view a video tour of the PCTU and what you and your child can expect during his/her initial phase of recovery.
When your child is ready to leave PCTU
Your child's length of stay in the PCTU could last a few days or many weeks, depending on the complexity of the medical condition and possible interventions. Our medical team closely monitors each patient's recovery progress, making sure specific criteria are met along the way and that families are always informed and involved.
A team meeting including the medical team and the family is planned for patients who need to stay in the PCTU longer than two weeks. These meetings serve as an opportunity to discuss the patient's short- and long-term goals, and to discuss the patient's current medical status and treatment plan. These team meetings continue on a bi-weekly schedule until the patient is transferred out of PCTU.
When your child's medical condition has improved beyond the PCTU level of care, he/she will be ready to transfer to another unit. Most patients transfer to our 5 East General Care unit. In some cases, the patient may be stable enough to leave the PCTU but is still not quite ready for General Care, so they will be transferred to 5 East Moderate Care. If the patient is ready for transfer but no bed is available in the General Care unit, the patient may remain in the PCTU and be cared for as if he/she were a General Care patient.
The majority of information about how to care for your child at home and any testing needed before discharge as well as the medication prescriptions and outpatient appointments will be arranged when your child arrives on the General Care unit.