Volunteers at Tanner are helping the health system’s open-heart team provide a little more comfort with their care.

The volunteers donated dozens of heart-shaped pillows to gift to patients having open-heart surgery at Tanner.

“We’re so grateful for the volunteers and the donation they’re making to our new open-heart program,” said Jeanette Wheeler, director of Volunteer Services for Tanner. “These are going to make a huge difference in the patients’ recoveries.”

While most pillows are crafted for comfort, these were made specifically with open-heart patients in mind.

And the actual size of the pillow is just as important as the design.

At 18 inches wide and 12 inches tall, filled with firm stuffing, the pillows are perfect for snuggling — and for holding over the incision in the chest that open-heart patients experience.

The pillows are made to be held against the chest when patients cough, sneeze or make a strenuous move, adding an extra layer of protection to the chest helping reduce pain.

“Open-heart surgery is a significant health event,” said cardiothoracic surgeon Omar Lattouf, MD, chief of the open-heart surgery program at Tanner. “During recovery, even small gestures of kindness carry a lot of weight. So to be given something that provides comfort and eases pain is going to make a difference as our patients regain their health.”

The face of the pillow has a diagram of a human’s heart and is used by providers like Dr. Lattouf to help explain different areas of the heart to the patients.

Nurses are also signing the pillows with special messages of encouragement.

“The heart-shaped pillows are going to be a major comfort during our patients’ recoveries,” said Nancy Harris, RN, nurse manager for the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) at Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton.

Learn more about our open-heart surgery program at TannerHeartCare.org.