The fast-track procedure, applied to cardiac patients undergoing surgery at Cardiocentro, is an accelerated procedure that reduces hospital stays and accelerates the recovery of the patient. The first programme implemented at Cardiocentro is the rapid post-op weaning from ventilator. Thanks to the use of state-of-the-art ventilators endowed with modern self-monitoring programmes, a patient can be weaned in 2-to-3 hours -therefore, much faster than with the traditional cardiac anaesthesia.

The optimisation of post-operative analgesia allows the patient chest movement without any particular pain, thanks to the introduction of the “combined” technique with peridural anaesthesia, to limit as much as possible post-operative pain and guarantee fast patient mobilization. This particular technique, though not widespread in cardiac anaesthesia, proves very promising in specific areas, such as minimally invasive surgery, where patients are often woken up while still on the operating table.

Objectives reached in the operating room

• Perioperative echocardiography
• Fast-track with locoregional technique (peridural)
• Anaesthesiologic support for “minimally invasive” surgery according to the Heart port technique