Clinical Challenges in Cardiac Surgery: Common Post-Op Cardiac Surgery Problems

We know cardiac surgery can seem a bit daunting on the surface. However, most surgeons will come across cardiac surgery patients at some point whether in the OR, ICU, ED, etc. As the FIRST cardiac surgery specialty team for Behind the Knife, we are excited to bring you episodes focused on high-yield topics to help you navigate common cardiac surgery challenges, discuss relevant literature to help you in practice, and help our listeners feel more comfortable around cardiac surgery patients. 

In this episode we’ll discuss common cardiac surgery post-op problems. Whether you're on a cardiac surgery rotation or just covering an ICU with cardiac surgery patients for the night, these common post-op problems are bound to occur.

Hosts: 

- Jessica Millar, MD- PGY-5 General Surgery Resident, University of Michigan, @Jess_Millar15

- Aaron William, MD- Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellow, Duke University, @AMWilliamsMD

- Nick Teman, MD- Assistant Profressor of Thorasis and Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Virginia, @nickteman

Learning objectives:

- Understand the workup and management strategies for post-operative bleeding in the post-cardiac surgery patient. 

- Understand how to recognize and manage post-cardiotomy cardiogenic shock in the post-cardiac surgery patient. 

- Understand the workup, short-term, and long-term management for post-cardiac surgery atrial fibrillation. 

Helpful Resources:

- 2019 AHA/ACC/HRS Focused Update of the 2014 AHA/ACC/HRS Guideline for the Management of Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000665

- 2014 AATS guidelines for the prevention and management of perioperative atrial fibrillation and flutter for thoracic surgical procedures, Executive summary: https://www.jtcvs.org/article/S0022-5223(14)00835-6/fulltext

For episode ideas/suggestions/feedback feel free to email Jessica Millar at: [email protected]

Please visit https://behindtheknife.org to access other high-yield surgical education podcasts, videos and more.  

If you liked this episode, check out our 4 Part Cardiac Surgery Crash Course Series here: https://behindtheknife.org/podcast/cardiac-surgery-crash-course-series-episode-1-intro-to-the-cardiac-or/