The PACU (Post Anesthesia Care Unit) was historically known as the "recovery room". The recovery room is an area adjacent to the operating rooms in which you or your relatives emerge timely and stress-free from anesthesia. We aim to rapidly remove the breathing tube and allow you to become independent and mobile as early as possible.

The PACU is also an important interface between the operating room, the intensive care unit and the general floor. We have 6 fully equipped and staffed advanced intensive care beds to take over the post-operative care of patients from across the whole spectrum of our cardiac surgical activity and manage them according to our fast track protocols. This allows emergence from anaesthesia and liberation from the ventilator very rapidly after your operation.

This fast-track approach has proven especially beneficial in "minimally invasive surgery" (MIS) (e. g. MIS mitral valve reconstruction / replacement, MIS aortic valve replacement, minimally invasive bypass surgery). MIS patients are usually awake and responsive within a few hours following completion of surgery and can be mobilized right away, enhancing early recovery. After a period of observation in the PACU, further care is in the intensive care unit until the next day or as long as needed.

Patients undergoing catheter-based interventional procedures (including TAVI, Mitra-Clip), endovascular procedures (such as TEVAR / EVAR) or pacemaker surgery will need a short period of post-operative follow-up care in a specialized monitoring unit but can usually skip intensive care entirely. Vital signs including heart rhythm, respiratory activity and blood tests are monitored, and evaluation for procedural complications is undertaken. Following a period of stability these patients can be transferred from the PACU to the general unit on the very day of surgery.