Top 10 Tips for Helping Yourself After Plastic Surgery
Tuck ‘N’ Stitch
Two eminent Beverly Hills plastic surgeons, Dr. Stuart Linder and Dr. Robert Kotler, are established team members of YourNewBodyBlog.com.
Exclusive to YourNewBodyBlog.com, Doctors Linder and Kotler appear here most weeks as the ultimate plastic surgery insiders with unique takes on the news, trends, personalities, and practices in rejuvenation surgery
On this site, Dr. Kotler is known as the “FaceDocBlogger” because his plastic surgery practice is solely devoted to procedures of the face and neck. Our other expert source, Dr. Linder, is known as the “BodyDocBlogger” because his practice is limited to plastic surgery procedures of the lower body.
This Week: Top 10 Tips for Helping Yourself After Plastic Surgery
Part of the healing process after any invasive plastic surgery procedure takes place during the days right after surgery. Almost all cosmetic surgery procedures are designed to help patients get quickly back on their feet, back to work and into their normal routines again. Thus, most plastic surgery procedures involve about 10 to 14 — and sometimes fewer — days of downtime.
A facial patient is marked with surgical
ink to guide the surgeon’s hand.
(Izabel Habur photo)
BodyDocBlogger: Doctor, did you ever hear of the “5Gs?”
FaceDocBlogger: Yes, indeed. That does not stand for 5,000 dollars but for Garlic, Ginko, Ginseng, Goldenseal, and Ginger, supplements that can adversely affect blood clotting.
BodyDocBlogger: While many people know that patients should avoid aspirin, aspirin-containing compounds and other herbs, those same people are usually not as aware that patients should also avoid those substances after the operation. Why? Because any one of those compounds can cause bleeding from an incision.
FaceDocBlogger: That no-no list should also include continuation of the smoking ban that started several weeks before the procedure. The cigarette smoke injures the blood vessels and prevents healthy circulation of the blood. In fact, smokers require more drugs during anesthesia to prevent coughing and wheezing. And that leads to a wake up time not much shorter than Rip Van Winkle’s record snooze.
BodyDocBlogger: I also remind my patients that smoking reduces circulation. And healing faster is based on blood bringing fresh oxygen to surgical incisions.
FaceDocBlogger: While Mark Twain may have said “Quitting tobacco is easy — I’ve done it a thousand times!” it’s never too late to stop smoking for good. Especially in facial surgery, it’s vital to keep good circulation, least the two edges of skin at the incision actually whither and die.
BodyDocBlogger: Here’s another handy tip for recovering plastic surgery patients: get up and get moving! Just slowly walk around the house or the yard the day after surgery, unless your doctor says otherwise. In most cases, a little movement helps your respiration. And when you use your muscles, you feel better. Gentle stretching can also be helpful.
FaceDocBlogger: And if you want to move more, don’t rely on narcotic pain pills too much because they tend to slow you down. Plus, if you only lie about in bed after your plastic surgery, you won’t eat as much. Post surgery is a time when your body needs nourishment. If you have no appetite, you may be taking too many pain medications.
BodyDocBlogger: And then there is always the big C — in this sense, I mean constipation. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for a laxative or a stool softener. Patients are usually instructed to take pain pills only as needed because those medications foster constipation by removing water from your system. If you strain while sitting on the toilette, you also increase the pressure on your veins and set yourself up for popping a stitch or tearing an internal suture and bleeding.
FaceDocBlogger: Speaking of water, try and stay hydrated. Insufficient drinking is right behind smoking as enemies of rapid healing. Gatorade, soft drinks and ginger ale are all good. In fact, anything with sugar and water are great.
BodyDocBlogger: Always arrange to have somebody there with you in the days after your surgery. Some bandages and dressings can be hard to reach and you may need a more alert mind to read the doctor’s written instructions and perhaps perform some easy procedures, like removing a surgical drain.
FaceDocBlogger: If your doctor does not offer, ask for a package of the supplies you will need at home in the days right after surgery. Having the doctor supply those items is better than the patient going to the pharmacy and buying the wrong things.
BodyDocBlogger: What other handy tips do you give your patients for a quick recovery, doctor?
FaceDocBlogger: I always ask the patient for the number of a 24-hour pharmacy near the patient’s home. The patient may call me late at night and it’s my job to relay the call to the pharmacy for filling. But the missing link in the chain is often the actual pharmacy phone number. So if your surgeon does not ask, find the most convenient pharmacy near you and give the number to your surgeon, just in case
BodyDocBlogger: Airplane travel is another dicey area. Thanks to the Internet, many patients fly in from distant areas for surgery. But flying just after the procedure is usually not a good idea. For one, flying is stressful and I don’t want my breast augmentation patients reaching over their heads. That pretty much precludes using overhead bins on a plane! So I ask them to stay at least a week before flying anywhere.
FaceDocBlogger: Due to pressure changes, rhinoplasty patients are also very sensitive to flying. I usually ask them to wait seven to ten days, until their sutures have been taken out and no infection is present. By then, adequate internal healing has taken place so the chance of nosebleed will be minimal.
Have a question for FaceDocBlogger or BodyDocBlogger? Let us know and we’ll do our best to have it answered. Feel free to leave your comments below!
*The opinions shared by FaceDocBlogger and/or BodyDocBlogger are their own personal professional viewpoints and in no way should be taken in place of an actual consultation with a licensed medical physician. The opinions of Tuck ‘n’ Stitch are solely their own and do not necessarily represent the opinions/feelings of YourNewBodyBlog.com.
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