Nurse manager Jennifer Dalton, R.N., saw some of her female patients facing difficulties others didn’t when recovering from heart surgery. So she went into action and put together a team to do something about it at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth.
After surgery, which involves cutting the breastbone to access the heart, large breasts pull painfully down and to the sides, potentially increasing the risk for infection if the incision were to open. In addition, “a lot of women aren’t comfortable talking to their physician about this, about their breasts being so large they’re causing extra pain,” Dalton said.
Patients usually are sent home with a binder, a tight elastic wrap that is uncomfortable because it cuts into the underarms. Dalton, who has been at Texas Health Fort Worth for 24 years and manages the cardiac telemetry unit, wanted something better. She researched options and came up with a solution: a post-surgical bra with supportive Velcro straps that also zips in the front.
The bras are readily available at drugstores, but now Texas Health Fort Worth sends two home with patients who need them.
“They don’t have to make an extra trip,” Dalton said. Compared to the binder, she added, “this kind of makes you feel more human.”
Dalton looked at other post-surgical bras, but they weren’t the best options. One, for example, had hook and eye fasteners in front, which were difficult to use. Another bra fastened with Velcro in front but wasn’t supportive enough.
The patients’ movements are severely restricted after surgery. They can’t raise their arms or do anything else that could put stress on the breastbone incision for four to six weeks and can’t drive for two to three months.
Once Dalton and members of her team settled on the right bra, Dalton worked with cardiovascular-thoracic surgeons on the medical staff, physical therapy, nurse practitioner Brandy Graham, APRN, FNP-BC (at right, with Dalton), as well as representatives from supply chain, finance and other areas to get the bras approved for distribution to the appropriate patients upon discharge.
“Jennifer did an outstanding job of using evidence-based practice and thinking outside the box to meet her patients’ needs,” said Debbie Phillips, M.S., R.N., FNP-C, director of nursing surgical services at the hospital.
The hope is that the use of the bras may cut down on post-surgical infections, although figures aren’t available yet.
“This kind of consumer-centered, innovative thinking is exactly what we all look for every day at Texas Health Fort Worth,” said Joseph DeLeon, hospital president. “What may seem like a small detail of care often means the most for our patients.”
