Selecting an experienced and caring team for your plastic surgery procedure is essential for an excellent outcome, but how you spend your recovery time may have an equally significant impact on your final results. Some procedures take just a few days of recovery before you return to normal activities, but others take weeks. Whether your recovery time is long or short, there are some important behaviors and habits to remember that will help you throughout the recovery process.
Prepare for the Recovery Process Before the Procedure Even Starts
If plastic surgeons suggest that recovery time may require weeks spent avoiding certain behaviors, it’s essential to prepare before the procedure. For example, a procedure like breast augmentation requires that the patient avoid lifting anything heavy for several days after surgery.
This means that you shouldn’t be lifting heavy bottles of orange juice from the grocery store or carrying around 12-packs of sparkling water. Purchase heavy items and complete any tasks that might require heavy lifting before surgery to avoid complications during recovery.
Read and Listen to What Plastic Surgeons Say About Recovery
An experienced plastic surgeon knows every facet of the process, as well as the exact behaviors of the patient after surgery. If the plastic surgeon says to stay away from smoking before surgery, that’s not a suggestion to take lightly. According to the Cleveland Clinic, surgeons complete more than 15 million cosmetic procedures in the U.S. each year. These surgeons have plenty of qualifications and experience, so it’s important to adhere to their advice.
When the surgeon says something about the before and after surgical process, you must take it seriously. For instance, if they say to limit a particular behavior for a certain amount of time, take this as highly important advice and not a mere suggestion. If you find the post-surgical recommendations overwhelming, your surgeon will also have notes and printed material available.
Don’t Assume You’ll Recover Faster
Healthy patients often enjoy the best results when it comes to plastic surgery procedures, but that doesn’t always mean a shorter or easier recovery time. Everybody reacts differently to surgery, and you should follow the surgeon’s instructions for post-surgical behavior to the letter, even if you feel completely recovered in record time. The plastic surgeons are the experts here, and you’ll feel best following their recommendations.
Plastic surgery can be very beneficial for a handful of reasons, but it’s still an invasive process. Should you decide to become a plastic surgery patient, take what your surgeon says to heart when it comes to experiencing a safe and healthy recovery. For more information, contact Artisan Plastic Surgery today.
