If you are undergoing any surgical procedure, one of the major concerns is how long it will take for you to recover. Please understand that every individual is different, and recovery is determined by many, many factors including the type of surgery you are undergoing and the severity of the condition. Even the two sides of your face or body will respond to the surgery differently.
After surgery, following our instructions to the letter is crucial to minimizing complications and speeding up your recovery. At the Tampa Bay Cosmetic Surgery Center, we guide you every step of the way from before your surgery until you are fully recovered. Read on to find out more about what to do to optimize your chances for a swift recovery.
Road to Successful Recovery
Recovery is a slow and complex process that is only completed when you recuperate fully. On the day of your procedure, please be assured that we will check to ascertain you are ready to go home; this includes factors like:
- Your blood pressure and breathing should be normal
- Ensure any nausea is under control
- You think and respond well as before surgery
- You can take your medications
Once you are home there are certain things we want you to adhere to.
Please Follow Our Instructions
On your pre-op visit, you will get detailed instructions on what to expect and what we want you to do after your surgery. You and your caretaker should read, understand, and follow these instructions carefully.
If you have questions, please call us! We will provide clarification and guidance on the instructions.
Ask for Assistance and Prepare Your Home
You will need someone to take you home and stay with you for 6-24 hours after your procedure. Your home needs to be ready and well prepared beforehand to enable you to access all you require during recovery. Please arrange your medications so they can be easily identified and used and please have bags of ice or frozen peas or other cold compresses available if instructed.
Eat A Balanced Diet and Take Plenty of Fluids
You may feel nauseous, constipated, or lose appetite after having surgery, but it’s hard to heal if your body doesn’t have the fuel it needs. Staying hydrated and eating a healthy diet means healing after surgery, and it helps to promote the healing process, minimize complications and help curb unwanted side effects of anesthesia.
If you feel bloated or nauseous, eat small meals throughout the day. Eat foods with beneficial nutrients like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, lean proteins, probiotics, and seafood. If you have undergone a facial procedure, avoid chewing so much to prevent your muscles from getting sore.
Control Your Pain
Take your prescribed medications for pain relief and management without fear or anxiety of getting hooked to them to control pain and avoid health complications. In our experience, nobody does. But remember that strong pain medications may increase your chances of feeling nauseous and constipated. Take them only if absolutely necessary. Acetaminophen 1000 mg every six hours does remarkable pain control and is preferable to narcotic pain medication. Please avoid aspirin and ibuprofen as this may cause bleeding, prolonging your recovery.
Care for Your Incision
However tempting it is to scratch or remove any scrabs that form around the incision, it is essential to avoid it. Unless Dr.Kass has specifically instructed otherwise, do not use peroxide or alcohol to keep your wounds germ-free. Within 1-2 days after your procedure, we can and we do like for you to let water run over your incisions.
Rest and Be Patient
Rest is paramount in the healing process. You may even require more sleep after undergoing some surgeries. It is advisable to sleep if you feel tired and take things slowly by not engaging in strenuous exercises, driving, or running errands. We do encourage being up and around as soon as possible.
Depending on the procedure, reduction in swelling may take a minimum of two to three weeks or longer before you notice an improvement. It, therefore, requires patience and managing your expectations for your recovery. Remember that swelling and bruising are normal and occur asymmetrically initially, but you will see noticeable improvement as time goes by. Final results become may take 1-2 years, but at six months (not before this), we can usually make some assessments about your progress.
Keep Your Follow-Up Appointments
Part of the recovery process is committing and honoring your medical follow-up appointments. Having someone to accompany you for checkups is always helpful if possible. During a follow-up appointment, Dr. Kass will check your healing progress.
Get Moving and Make It Routine
Walking is the best therapy in your recovery journey. Walking around should be part of your recovery program to boost blood circulation and prevent complications like blood clots and pneumonia.
Factors That Determine How Fast You Recover
Age: This can significantly impact recovery. Typically, younger patients recover faster than older patients after a procedure. However, a healthier older patient could recover faster than a younger patient with medical problems. A patient’s health history and the state of their body determine how fast they recover despite their age.
A positive outlook on recovery: If you are fully willing and committed to doing whatever has to be done to fully recover, you will have a faster recovery process. Whatever your doctor asks you to do, whether it is going for rehabilitation, quitting smoking, avoiding obsessing about the swelling and the recovery itself, or lifestyle changes and managing stress, can play a significant role in your recovery time.
Overall health: Different factors, such as preexisting medical conditions like diabetes, medications, and smoking habits, influence how well and fast you recover. All of these conditions can slow down the healing process.
Additionally, if you do not have a serious medical history, you are more likely to heal faster.
Complications: Unexpected issues such as infections can affect and slow down your recovery process.
The Takeaway
Following our from instructions after surgery can significantly improve your chances of a faster recovery. Attending follow-up visits also helps your doctor to assess your recovery process. Do your part to recover successfully.
For more information please contact Tampa Bay Cosmetic Surgery Center today or schedule an appointment.