Chest physical therapy procedures in open heart surgery.

Chest physical therapy is now widely used after open heart surgery to prevent secondary pathology in the lungs and to improve the phhysical condition of the patient. A brief overview of cardiac surgery is presented. Factors occurring before, during, and after surgery that contribute to postoperative respiratory insufficiency are outlined, and a comprehensive three-phase treatment program is described. Also, treatment guidelines, precautions, and contraindications are discussed.