Surgery – whether it is a larger surgery like a mommy makeover or a smaller surgery like eyelid surgery– is important to take seriously. Particularly when it is elective cosmetic surgery, you want it to be successful: achieve the results you want, heal uneventfully, and have pretty scars. For this to happen, you need to prepare. Particularly for women who are frequently pulled in many directions by their job, family, and responsibilities, you want to optimize prior to your surgery day. What does that look like? See below for health and life considerations to prepare for your big day.
Women make the world run round. We all know that, but after surgery you can’t. So you need to prepare. I have only had a few bleeding complications during my 20+ year career, and they were two weeks out from surgery. How did it happen? Doing laundry. LAUNDRY. Not kickboxing class or Peleton or something exciting. I think this is a great time to *empower* your significant others and children to see how they too can cook, do laundry, drive, grocery shop, etc. You should be watching Netflix.
PLEASE please follow instructions after surgery. There is a reason why I ask you to do certain things. I have been a surgeon for over 20 years. If my instructions conflict with something a friend or the internet tells you, please discuss it with me, and I can explain why I do what I do.
Surgery is a stress on the system. As such, you want to make sure you are as ready as you can be to heal well. Just like if you are training for a race, you want to be in top form. If you haven’t seen your primary care doctor for a while, this is a great reason to go get that physical. Is your blood pressure good? are you anemic? You want to feel strong and healthy, be getting good sleep, and be in a good mental place before you do a surgery. Elective surgery is just that- elective. You should do it when it is right for you.
I get how hard it is to do. There is no “good time” to plan to do surgery. Know you need to give your body time to heal. You may be a superhero, straight A, gold star person in your everyday life (yes, I have lived in Silicon Valley for a long time, and all my patients are overachievers), but your body just. needs. time. to. heal. You will get better faster if you give it that time.
I get that talking about weight is a tough topic. I am here to talk about it from a surgical perspective. There are a ton of studies which show higher BMI increases complications- infection, poor healing, DVT risk, and more. There are surgeries where if you lose weight after the surgery, it hurts the results. Breasts lifts and reductions will loosen and droop if you lose weight after the surgery. Tummy tucks will loosen as well. Things to think about:
A typical day of surgery for my patients when I operate at my private surgery center in Palo Alto (a freestanding AAAA certified center just for plastic surgery).
You have had nothing to eat or drink after midnight. The only medication you take the day of surgery tends to be blood pressure medication. If you take any pills of any kind, review what to do with these with your doctor.
How to dress? You dress in loose comfortable clothing which is easy to take on and off, with a shirt that buttons or zips up, and shoes you can just slip on. Leave your jewelry at home. No makeup. Wear glasses instead of contacts.
Go straight to the center, not my office.
What to bring with you? Check with your surgeon. For me, I like you to bring your postoperative medication with you in case you need a pain pill or nausea medication on your drive home. Sometimes I will ask you to bring a bra (breast reduction) or bikini bottoms (tummy tuck) to assist with marking. For my patients, I take care of all the garments/dressings, and you will wake up with them on.
When you get to the surgery center, You will check in with a nurse. She will ask you questions (your medications, allergies, etc) and have you change into a gown. They will check your blood pressure and temperature. While you wait in the pre surgery area, we have our patients get under a warming blanket – not only does it feel nice, it has benefits to your healing from surgery BLOG.
I, Dr. Lauren Greenberg, your plastic surgeon will see you. We will review and confirm your surgery.I will mark you (yes, just like in the TV shows). You can ask any questions then.
The anesthesiologist will then see you. For my patients, all my anesthesiologists are board certified MDs. They will review your health history and start your IV to give you fluids (don’t worry! they are pros!) and give you a medication to relax you.
Then you will go into the Operating Room. We will transfer you from the gurney to the surgical bed. At this point we do many safety precautions and monitors: blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter to measure the level of oxygen in your blood, EKG leads to see your heart rhythm, temperature probes. We use leg massagers, called sequential compression devices, to keep the blood flow moving in your legs to prevent a blood clot. There is padding all over- arms, feet, knees. We continue with the warming blanket. You will have a mask which is just oxygen. The medicine to fall asleep goes through your IV. The next thing you know, you will be in recovery.
Who is in the Operating room? There are usually four people. Me, your surgeon. The anesthesiologist doctor who is monitoring you the entire case. A scrub tech who hands me instruments and a circulating nurse who gets us supplies we may need.
You will wake up in recovery. Your surgery is done, your bandages are on. There is a nurse near your bedside who can help you if you need pain or nausea medication. We continue to monitor you constantly during this time as you wake up. The nurse is certified in advanced cardiac life support. The recovery room is equipped just like one in a hospital. Gradually over the course of an hour or more if you need, you become awake. As you get ready to leave, the nurse will sit you up, help you get dressed, and transfer you to a wheelchair to go to your car. You need a trusted person (friend or family member) to take you home.
At home, you will likely sleep most of the day. Surgery is like running a marathon, and you need to rest. Someone needs to stay with you for the first 24 hours. After surgery you may need help. Anesthesia affects people differently. Surgery and pain affect people differently. You need someone there.
I have 1,000+ blogs. If you are wondering what healing is like, can you get on a plane, what should you buy before surgery, please search my blogs for a relevant one. Some of my most read general blogs about surgery:
How to Prepare for Plastic Surgery
How Long Does It Take to Heal After Plastic Surgery?
5 Things to Consider If You Can’t Poop After Surgery
How Soon Can I Exercise After Plastic Surgery?