How to Prepare for a Future Plastic Surgery

When a person decides to have plastic surgery performed, they need to be prepared in order to have an optimum result. These procedures are elective and can be done when the timing is right for each individual patient. Elective operations are those that aren’t necessary for a patient’s physical well being in terms of life or death. They can be quite helpful, however, for a person’s emotional well being. Feeling better about appearances, especially correcting flaws that have caused embarrassment or self consciousness, can contribute greatly to a person’s quality of life and self image. The way that an individual can contribute to the success of their operation is by being fully prepared. Here are some steps:

- Realistic Expectations: It is important to ask oneself if the process is being pursued with realistic expectations. In order to discover what a certain procedure can or cannot do, a patient must carefully investigate. Consultations with the plastic surgeon, viewing “before and after” photos and doing a bit of soul searching are all important. The plastic surgeon will be able to share surgical details and give concrete examples of what to expect. “Before and after” photos are especially helpful if those viewed are of similar procedures on patients in the same age/body shape/skin type category. In doing soul searching, a person should reflect on what they expect to gain from any type of plastic surgery. They should realistically expect to have their appearance enhanced but not perfected. It is impossible to achieve perfection. It is also important for an individual to be certain that they are undergoing the operation for themselves and no one else. No one should be coerced into elective surgery.

- Quit Smoking: Before going under the scalpel, it is crucial to discontinue smoking cigarettes or being in the presence of second hand smoke. Tobacco use has been proven to hamper the human immune response. Recovery and healing will take longer and be less successful if a patient is a cigarette smoker.

- Share Medication History with Physician: It is important to share history of all prescription and non-prescription medications with the surgeon who will be performing the operation before-hand. This is true of herbal remedies, aspirin, and even vitamins. Many of these products will have an effect on the healing response of the body or may interact in a specific way with anesthesia and bleeding.

- Have Financial Resources Ready: Health insurance doesn’t pay for cosmetic surgery. It is important that patients research and plan for how much an operation will cost and how they will foot the bill. Since in most cases a bit of time off of work will be required for recovery, a patient should also have enough to cover living expenses without their regular paycheck.

- Have a Friend or Family Member Ready to Help: A patient will need someone to drive them to and from the clinic or hospital as well as someone to help take care of them in the early days. If there are young children or pets to be taken care of, this should be arranged prior to hospital check in as well.

With a bit of planning and preparation, plastic surgery experiences can run much more smoothly. Every patient will be glad they followed the proper steps to get ready once the operation has commenced.