Plastic Surgery Post-Op Care tips

We recommend you have a detailed conversation with your surgeon about your after surgery care, however, you can start preparing yourself by following these useful tips:

Enlist help before you actually need it: Even simple procedures like an eyelid lift or liposuction, will require you to rest and change your routine. At first, you’ll need help with the simplest tasks like changing your clothes, driving, cooking, and cleaning. As you prepare for your surgery, take a moment to get your support system ready and ask a close friend or relative to stay home with you for the first couple of days post-op.

Go to all of your post-op appointments: In order to monitor your progress and overall health, you need to go to all of your post-op appointments. Even if you don’t have sutures that need removing or drains that need emptying, don’t skip this essential component of your recovery.

Follow your doctor’s instructions: We can never stress this enough: your needs as a recovering patient are unique to you and your overall health. Your surgeon will adapt post-operative instructions and send you home ready to rest. If you have doubts about any of these instructions, do not hesitate to ask.

Expect to take time off work: Depending on the procedure you’re having and the type of work you do, you’ll need to take anywhere between 7 to 14 days off. Ask your surgeon about how long you’ll need so you can plan accordingly. Overexerting yourself before you’re healed can be dangerous.

Prepare for a healthy lifestyle: Eating a healthy diet and drinking plenty of water will go a long way to helping your body heal faster. Staying hydrated is key to helping your body replenish fluids and decrease swelling. Nutritious foods low in sodium and refined sugar will increase your body’s strength.

Avoid overexertion but try to remain active: Your surgeon will be the only one qualified to tell you when you can go back to exercising. However, unless otherwise instructed, you should try to take walks throughout the day in order to help circulation and swelling. You can slowly progress to taking brisk walks, just ask your doctor when.

Trust your doctor to manage your pain: It’s normal to feel swollen and uncomfortable right after your surgery, but trust your doctor to help you with pain management. Always ask if taking OTC pain medications is ok.

Find a post-operative massage therapist: After liposuction or plastic surgical procedures, your plastic surgeon may recommend you schedule a follow-up appointment to undergo Post-Surgical Manual Lymphatic Drainage (PS-MLD), which has been known to assist in the recovery process. Although liposuction is meant to remove pesky fat from various areas of the body, it’s still an invasive procedure that disrupts a variety of physiological functions.