Recovery guide Warning signs
Recovery complications after open-heart surgery
Most recoveries are uneventful. The ones that are not almost always announce themselves first, and the difference between a phone call and an admission is often a few days of noticing.
Posthorax Australia · Reviewed 30 July 2026 · About a 5 minute read
Sternal instability
The breastbone is held by wire until bone bridges the gap. If the two halves move against each other — usually because of load, coughing without bracing, or the ordinary strain of getting out of a chair — healing is disrupted.
The symptom is mechanical and distinctive: a click, grind, or a feeling of movement in the chest when you move, cough or breathe deeply. Report it promptly. Instability is also the pathway to the more serious wound problems below, which is why external chest support was studied against exactly this endpoint.
Wound and deep sternal infection
Superficial wound infections are relatively common and usually straightforward. Deep sternal wound infection is the one units work hardest to prevent, because it can mean readmission, debridement, prolonged antibiotics and sometimes revision surgery.
What to watch for: redness, swelling or pain that increases rather than settles; discharge of any kind; a wound edge that opens; fever or feeling unwell. Do not wait for your next appointment.
Chest infection
Shallow breathing and a suppressed cough let secretions pool, and that is how pneumonia starts. Signs are a productive cough with coloured sputum, fever, and breathlessness that is new or worsening.
This is the complication the breathing exercises exist to prevent, which is why teams push them so hard in the first weeks.
Fluid, rhythm and mood
Fluid retention shows up as swelling in the legs or ankles and a quick climb in weight — which is why daily weights are worth recording. Atrial fibrillation is common after cardiac surgery and may feel like palpitations, fluttering or unusual tiredness. Both are managed easily when reported early.
Low mood and anxiety are also genuine complications of major surgery, not character flaws. They respond to treatment.
The short list to act on
Ring your surgical team, without waiting, for any of these:
- a wound that is more red, swollen or painful, or discharging
- a click, grind or movement in the breastbone
- fever, chills, or feeling generally unwell
- breathlessness, chest pain or palpitations that are new or worse
- swelling of the legs or ankles, or rapid weight gain
- pain that is escalating rather than settling
Questions patients ask
+What are the most common complications after open-heart surgery?
Wound problems, chest infections, fluid retention and atrial fibrillation are the common ones; sternal instability and deep sternal wound infection are less common but more serious. Most are managed easily when reported early.
+What does sternal instability feel like?
A click, grind or sensation of movement in the breastbone when you move, cough or breathe deeply. It should be reported to your surgical team promptly.
+How do I know if my wound is infected?
Look for redness, swelling or pain that increases rather than settles, discharge of any kind, a wound edge that opens, or fever. Contact your team rather than waiting for your next appointment.
Who writes this, and what it is not
Written by Posthorax Australia, the Australian distributor of the POSTHORAX® range, for patients and families after cardiac surgery. General recovery guidance reflects standard postoperative practice; claims about the device come from the trials cited on our clinical evidence page.
We are not your treating team and this is not medical advice. Where anything here conflicts with your surgeon, GP, physiotherapist or cardiac rehabilitation service, follow them.
Reviewed 30 July 2026 · Corrections: sales@posthorax.com.au