You’ve done your research, you’ve saved some of your hard earned money and you’ve gone through consultations and chosen your surgeon. Now what? Once you have your official surgery date on the books, it is normal to feel anxious. Some of our patients have a fear of the general unknown of what to expect after surgery. We are going to give you a checklist of everything you need to keep in mind about the last and final stage of your plastic surgery journey: Recovery.
- Caregiver is key!
- Your caregiver is going to be your biggest asset. This needs to be someone who is patient, has enough free time, and is aware of all of the responsibilities.
- It is helpful if your caregiver is able to attend all pre-op appointments with you to make sure they have a deep understanding of the process as well.
- Most often, we bring you back into the surgery
center one day after your surgery to check in on you and make sure you’re on
your way to a healthy recovery.
- This is when our massage therapist, Pam, will perform light-touch massage therapy and lymphatic massage to get your tissues on the fast track to healing.
- Lymphatic massage help drain excess fluids and toxins from your body. Check out our video all about that here.
- Be at peace with the fact that everyone heals at
a different pace.
- It can be frustrating when that one girl who was a friend of a friend in college got a tummy tuck and is somehow up and active shortly after surgery while you’re 6 weeks in and still feel sore and exhausted. However, it is so important to listen to your body. You will heal. You will get there. Don’t compare your recovery time to someone else’s.
- If you’re having any concerns about your healing process, we are always here to chat and check up on you. Aside from scheduling follow up appointments with all of our patients throughout the recovery process, we also give you the phone numbers and emails of our nursing staff and of Dr. Slenkovich himself.
- WHEN WILL I SEE FINAL RESULTS?! PATIENTS MUST
HAVE PATIENCE!
- This is a question we get all of the time. Patients begin to hyper analyze their body during the recovery phase. They may question if their results were worth the tough recovery, contemplate revision surgeries or feel like their surgery was “botched” because it doesn’t look perfect at week 4.
- The 6-month mark is when you should be seeing your final results. Until then, give your body some grace. Let it heal, let swelling subside, let implants settle into place, let scars begin to flatten and fade. It takes time.
- Check out our video on scar healing here.
- Revisions are sometimes necessary.
- We take every preventative measure possible, but sometimes a revision may be necessary. They are not super common, but you need to be aware that this may be necessary. Sometimes a scar isn’t healing right or your implants aren’t settling like they should. We will work with you to get it fixed.
- Stay positive
- Recovery is an emotional rollercoaster. We know this and we are prepared to talk with you and comfort you when you may be taking an emotional downturn.
- Taking pictures of your recovery along the way is a great way to put everything into perspective. Look at your pre-op picture, look at your one-week post-op picture, and look at yourself now. You will see major changes! Embrace them!
- Getting back to exercise and physical activity
- You should not be getting your heart rate up for the first 2-3 weeks after recovery. Doctor’s orders.
- Walking is a great way to introduce exercise back into your life after surgery.
- Typically, by the 4-6 week mark we clear you to do any exercising that your body allows. Don’t push yourself too hard, but you also need to get up off that couch!
Recovery has varying degrees of difficulty, based on the procedure(s) performed, a patient’s physical health going into surgery, and mental toughness. If you stay positive and realize we are your PARTNER in this journey, you’ll be feeling better than ever before you know it. We have a full recovery video with Dr. Slenkovich and our lead nurse Jessica here.
Until next time,
