If possible, your child should be free of infection before surgery. This includes dental cavities, so a dental check-up and any dental work required should be completed a minimum of 2 weeks before surgery. A letter is required from the dentist clearing the patient for surgery. If your child develops other signs of an infection, such as a fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, diarrhea, vomiting or other symptoms of a virus, call the surgeon’s office immediately.
Insurance
Please contact your insurance company to verify insurance and determine whether a referral is required. If your insurance requires a referral, have your primary care physician’s office fax the referral to Texas Children’s Hospital Congenital Heart Surgery at 832-825-2013.
Medications
If your child is taking aspirin, ask the cardiologist when to discontinue it. Patients generally stop taking aspirin 7–14 days before surgery to minimize the risk of bleeding. However, there may be a medical reason to continue the aspirin, so it’s important to check with your cardiologist. Other medications may be stopped for several days leading up to surgery, so call the surgery office if you have any questions about the medications your child is taking.
If your child is taking “blood thinners” such as Coumadin (warfarin) or Lovenox (enoxaparin), call the Congenital Heart Surgery Clinic at and ask to speak to the clinic nurse. These patients may need to be hospitalized a few days before surgery to discontinue these medications and transition to a different blood thinner called heparin. This decision will be coordinated between you and your care team.
Lodging
If you live more than an hour away from Texas Children’s Hospital, you should plan to stay in Houston for at least one full week after discharge from the hospital to ensure a rapid response
to any early issues after surgery. A Texas Children’s Hospital social worker can assist your family if help is needed making these arrangements.
Immunizations
If your child is due for immunizations, shots or vaccines within a week of surgery, call the Congenital Heart Surgery Clinic at XXX and ask to speak to the clinic nurse before getting any shots. In some cases, receiving a vaccine near the date of surgery may require us to delay your child’s procedure.
Blood donation
Children undergoing cardiac surgery frequently need blood products. If you’re interested in donating blood, call the Congenital Heart Surgery Clinic at XXX and ask to speak to a clinic nurse about blood donation. You and your family or friends may donate blood that will be reserved for a specific patient through designated (or directed) donation. For congenital heart surgery patients, blood donors must be the same blood type as the patient. If you wish to pursue designated donation, it’s important to contact the surgeon’s office to allow Texas Children’s to help coordinate the donation. To help you make a designated blood donation, the surgeon’s office will need to know the patient’s weight, blood type, surgery date and type of surgery.
The best time to donate blood is three days before surgery. There is a cost associated with directed donor blood that may not be covered by your insurance. It will be your responsibility to cover this cost.
The day before surgery
The surgical team starts preparing you and your child for heart surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital the day before surgery. You and your child should arrive at 8 a.m. in the Congenital Heart Surgery clinic on the 20th floor of the West Tower. A congenital heart surgery clinic nurse will be there to support you and guide you through the day.
Members of the Congenital Heart Surgery team will meet with you and your child to discuss preoperative routines and answer any questions you may have. These team members include specialists from social work and child life, as well as a heart surgery advanced practice provider (nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant) and a pediatric cardiac anesthesia advanced practice provider.
Texas Children’s staff will conduct a thorough preoperative testing to achieve the best surgical outcome for the patient. This testing will take several hours. Members from the heart surgery team will perform a physical exam. Tests, including a chest X-ray, an electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood work, are performed to ensure your child is ready for surgery.
Often, the surgical consent will be reviewed, and the patient (if over 18 years old), parents or legal guardians will be asked to sign it during this visit. Legal proof of guardianship may be requested, if appropriate.
At the end of the preoperative testing, your child will be either admitted to the cardiac inpatient unit or sent home to return early the following morning for surgery.
Valet parking is available at the West Tower building. If you choose to valet park on the day of your preoperative testing, bring the parking ticket to the clinic for validation. It’s your responsibility to pay for parking throughout the remainder of the hospital stay.
