LVAD Living

Showering with My LVAD

May 11, 2018

6 min read

Somaneh Bouba

The most frequently asked question about living with an LVAD heart pump, how do you shower? Here's the practical reality from personal experience.

The Precautions

Living with the LVAD involves a lot of precautions, such as safety at home, staying active, and being more stringent on hygiene matters, washing hands often, brushing teeth, showering, and regularly changing the dressing area where the cable comes out of your tummy.

What I get the most questions about is how I shower with my HeartMate3 LVAD system. The electronic components of the LVAD pump may stop working if submerged in water. So, bathing is not allowed. However, one can take a shower after some preparation.

The Timeline

In general, a person's breastbone should be healed within four to six weeks following open-heart surgery, and sternal precautions should be lifted at that time. I was allowed to shower about a month after my procedure.

It started out as a very tedious and tiring process lasting two hours or so. Then, with time, I gained enough energy that I went from taking a shower every 3 to 4 days to every other day, and now, I have enough energy to shower daily.

The Process

Showers are definitely doable. It is just a little bit of extra work. Obviously, I can't just jump right in. Prior to taking showers, I have to ensure I protect the LVAD driveline. But I have adapted rapidly to the new norm and accepted it all. I can be taped up and my equipment in my shower bag within about 5 to 10 minutes.

I don't take a direct shower in the usual sense. I use a handheld device, that helps because I am less likely to wet the dressing or any part of the cable. We also try to plan the dressing changes right after when I do shower.

Tips from Experience

• I use two 8×12" self-adhesive films, overlapped horizontally in the middle of my stomach
• Before the films, I place two paper towels between the dressing and the self-adhesive films, these soak in any moisture or water that would pass through
• A handheld showerhead gives you much more control than a fixed one
• Plan dressing changes right after a shower
• In the beginning, I had a few incidents where water leaked into the film protection, but my dressing remained clean as I caught it early enough

"If you are a fellow LVAD patient, please feel free to share your notes and experience. I would love to trade notes and learn new tips and suggestions."

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