Plastic surgeons are frequently asked to consult with people who have an objective in mind that cannot be achieved. For this reason, we constantly find ourselves in the position of having to protect the patients from themselves. Here are some of the common ones that people struggle with:

Having a plastic surgery procedure requires physical and emotional support – which means you need to plan ahead! You will more than likely have at least a couple of loved ones or good friends helping with existing commitments in the beginning as you recover. The more prepared you are prior to the surgery, the easier it will be for everyone during this recovery period.

It’s important that you don’t rely too much on age to assess your overall health when considering surgery. That means that you shouldn’t assume that because you’re under forty, you’re healthy enough for plastic surgery, or that because you’re older, that you’re not. Age is relative and plenty of people up to the age of sixty-five have plastic surgery all the time. The rule at our practice is that if you’re over the age of sixty-five, we’ll do your surgery in the hospital where we can observe you overnight afterward.

Over the last couple of posts, you’ve hopefully begun to understand the importance of knowing what your BMI is and how this will impact what you can expect from cosmetic surgeries.

In my previous post, I addressed the topic of how cosmetic surgery is not a weight-loss solution. It’s important that you’re aware of your BMI (which you can look up in that post) and understand how that impacts cosmetic procedures.

Plastic surgery cannot make an obese person skinny. What plastic surgery can do is remove problem areas of fat that you have trouble getting rid of with diet and exercise. It can also remove loose skin that occurs with aging, after losing weight, or after childbirth. But it’s unrealistic to think that plastic surgery can make someone who’s very overweight look thin.

Have you decided to move forward? It’s an exciting time! To ensure the whole experience goes as smoothly as possible, we provide patients the following checklist to help prepare. Read through it so you have a good idea of how to best prepare yourself. Remember, this is just a sample checklist for a specific procedure at our practice. Your surgeon may have a different set of instructions for your particular procedure. This checklist is simply provided as a guide to discussion between you and your surgeon.

​In my previous post, I began sharing the instructions we give our patients after surgery, specifically instructions for the caretaker in your life and how to take care of your dressings. Continue to read through some of these to get a better idea of what to expect. These are meant to be guidelines for discussion only. Please check with your surgeon on his/her specific instructions to follow.

​Over the next couple of posts, I’m going to give you insight into the instructions
we give our patients after surgery. Read through them to get a better idea of
what to expect. These are meant to be guidelines for discussion only. Please
check with your surgeon on his/her specific instructions to follow: