How to Prep Before Your Procedure
Cosmetic surgery can take a big physical, emotional, and mental toll on a person. If you’ve never had plastic surgery before, you might be wondering what you can do to prepare yourself for it. You may not even have the first clue how to start. You may even think that there isn’t any way to prepare for how the surgery will affect you. The good news is that you absolutely can prep before your procedure, and we’ll tell you how to do it.
Physically Preparing for Surgery
The healthier you are, the easier it will be to get through you surgery. As such, the best way for you to physically prepare for your procedure is to be as healthy as possible. You don’t have to be perfectly fit or have an athlete’s body for this; you just need to be taking good care of yourself. Exercise helps you boost your strength and endurance levels, which will be important in the recovery. Eating well means you’re getting all the nutrients you need, which will help your body heal properly. Quitting smoking and drinking will help reduce your risk of complications.
Being healthier doesn’t mean that you have to be in the greatest physical condition you’ve ever been in your life. Your doctor knows that nobody’s perfect and they don’t expect you to be either. However, being healthy before your surgery makes you and your body better prepared for surgery.
Emotionally Preparing for Surgery
There are a lot of emotions that patients experience before surgery, including fear and excitement. This is perfectly normal; almost every patient gets nervous before their surgery. To help you deal with the emotional roller coaster before and after your surgery, the best thing you can do is find out as much information as possible. Talk to your doctor and ask questions during your consultation. Even if you have questions after your consultation, don’t be afraid to contact your doctor again. Learn about how the procedure is going to go and ask questions about what to expect after your procedure. You should even find out what your surgeon recommends to prep for surgery. Being nervous or scared is normal when you’re about to have cosmetic surgery, but the more you know, the less scary it becomes and the easier it will be for you to handle the process.
Mentally Preparing for Surgery
Mental preparation for plastic surgery is two-fold: making yourself feel more at ease before heading in to surgery, and knowing what to expect when you get out of surgery. When you go on vacation, there’s always tons of things you need to do beforehand – checking the itinerary, contacting your bank, making sure you have all your tickets and reservations, packing all the essentials, arranging house and pet care, etc. Prepping for surgery is a lot like that, too. You have to make sure your home is ready for you when you get home, you need travel arrangements in place to get you to and from the doctor’s office (and back home if you’re from out of town), medication prescriptions need to be filled, extra supplies need to be purchased, and so on. Make a list of everything you need to accomplish before your surgery, with input from your doctor, and get them done. You’ll feel more relaxed and at ease as you head into the doctor’s office.
The other way you can mentally prepare yourself is to know how you might feel and look after surgery. Patients are sometimes discouraged by how they look after surgery. When you are in the early stages of recovery, it can be difficult to believe that you will look the way you want. You will also experience some new pain and discomfort, plus you’ll likely be more tired than usual. All of this is normal, but if you haven’t ever recovered from surgery before, the experience can throw you for a loop. By talking to your doctor about what to expect during the recovery process and how to cope with this new experience, you will greatly improve your chances of getting through it smoothly.
It Pays to Be Prepared
This isn’t just a Boy Scout ideal; prepping for surgery in these ways can only benefit you and give you an advantage throughout the process. Patients who don’t prepare themselves can have a greater risk of a plastic surgery gone wrong and associated complications.
There might be other ways that your surgeon recommends to prepare for surgery in addition to the ones already discussed; make sure you do them. Your surgeon isn’t making these recommendations just for the fun of it. Prepping for surgery is an important part of the process and can only help you towards your end goal.
Choosing a quality plastic surgeon also goes a long way towards getting you well-prepared for surgery. Dr. Paul Nassif of Spalding Drive Plastic Surgery is trusted with patients worldwide and is known for his twenty years of skill and expertise. Dr. Nassif is one of the star doctors on E! Network’s “Botched” and has been featured on several other television programs, including “Dr. 90210” and “Good Morning America”. If you’re looking for the best plastic surgeon to help you prepare for cosmetic surgery, look no further than Dr. Nassif.
To schedule an initial patient consultation with Dr. Nassif, contact Spalding Drive Plastic Surgery at (310) 275-2467.