Clinic Visits
Prior to discharge you will meet with a transplant nurse coordinator. They will give you and your family a tour of the clinic, be sure that you are registered in the clinic, and familiarize you with the routine.
When you are an outpatient, routine chest x-ray, blood work and echos and/or pulmonary functions will be done. You will be given forms to obtain a "medic alert" emblem. Instructions and phone numbers will be given to you so you may contact your Stanford physicians and the transplant nurse coordinators if questions or problems arise.
The importance of recognizing symptoms for which you need to contact a physician will be reviewed. Adult heart, heart-lung, single lung and bilateral lung transplant patients are seen on Monday and Thursday mornings in the clinic by appointment.
You should plan to arrive at the hospital 1 1/2 to 2 hours before your scheduled clinic appointment to allow sufficient time for any required testing, i.e., blood work, EKGs, ECHOs, pulmonary function tests or chest x-rays.
It is not necessary to fast for blood work, but it is essential that there be 12 hours (range of 11 - 13 hours acceptable) between your last dose of cyclosporine or tacrolimus, and the time your blood is drawn! If you are on any other medication that is tracked with blood levels and timing is an issue, this will be explained to you.
All other medications should be taken at their regular times.
Clinic visits are scheduled twice a week for approximately one month after discharge. After this, their frequency is usually decreased. Most patients are discharged to return to their home area three to four months after surgery or when they are medically stable.
Your private physician at home will be contacted by the Stanford physicians, and written information will be given to her or him regarding your follow-up care. Close contact is maintained between your physician and the Stanford transplant team after you return home.