What To Do After Surgery
While rare in occurrence, detecting early signs of complications is highly beneficial to the outcome of your surgery. Prior to your first follow-up meeting, the two most common complications that you must be alert about are bleeding and infection.
Bleeding, or hematoma is when blood collects at the surgical site. This entails pain, discomfort, and pressure. These symptoms may appear typical, but hematoma comes with abnormal swelling – especially if it only happens on one side (applicable to breast augmentations, facelifts, and tummy tucks). Contact Memorial Plastic Surgery – Clear Lake at once if you feel you are experiencing hematoma.
Infection is uncommon but is more likely to happen if a foreign substance (i.e. breast implants) is placed in your body. It manifests as pain and swelling at the surgical site, and shows in about 4-7 days after the surgery. Experiencing low-grade fevers after surgery is normal, but infection may cause high fevers of 101 Fahrenheit. The increased amount of redness and warmth on the surgical site is also probable signs of infection.
It is unusual for a patient to experience all of these signs at once. Post-operation, Dr. Roehl will follow up with patients regularly, but if you have any concerns regarding the risks, do not hesitate to contact the doctor(s) or medical staff working at Memorial Plastic Surgery – Clear Lake.
Drain Care
Drains are crucial for faster recovery and healing. Its primary purpose is to remove fluid accumulation at the surgical sites. Known as seroma, this accumulation is caused by leaking tissues damaged as a result of the surgery. Drains will evacuate this fluid along with blood collection (hematomas). Drains can be bothersome at times but they are necessary.
Click here to learn how to properly tend to your drains.
Showering
Patients are allowed to take showers 36 hours after any surgery. You may wet the incisions sites but should not scrub it. Avoid scented soaps until your scars are completely healed. We recommend using generic antibacterial soaps like Dial. Patients should also refrain from apply lotion in/around their incisions for at least 2-weeks. Finally, resist the urge to remove the steri-strips (butterfly tapes) covering your incisions, as Dr. Roehl will typically do this for you 2-weeks after the surgery.
Lifting
Lifting should be avoided after any surgery because it can tear freshly repaired tissues and pop sutures. Doing so can also unnecessarily spike your blood pressure which can lead to bleeding and pain. Limit yourself to lifting objects weighing less than 5 pounds.
Driving
Dr. Roehl strictly prohibits driving to your first postoperative visit until she is able to assess in person whether you can stop taking your pain medications. Patients who have switched to Advil or ibuprofen for pain relief may drive using vehicles with good power steering. In most cases, it is best to have someone accompany you for no less than 3-weeks unless told otherwise by our doctors.
Working
Returning to work varies from one patient to another and with the procedure type. Under normal circumstances, breast reconstruction and liposuction patients can return to their desk jobs after 1 week, while tummy tuck patients may have to wait for at least 2-weeks. Ask Dr. Roehl or our Memorial Plastic Surgery – Clear Lake staff for the specific recovery period for your surgery.
Scarring
The extent of your scarring will depend on how well you follow our post-op instructions and how natural your scars heal, which is predetermined by your genes. Time is an important healing factor, as it may take at least one whole year for your surgical scars to mature. Mature scars are flat, faded, and soft to touch while immature scars can be itchy, tender, and pink.
It’s worth noting that any incision will result in a scar. Dr. Roehl does her best to minimize the scarring by carefully suturing the incisions backed with aggressive scar therapy. The therapy typically starts 2-3 weeks within your recovery period and involves silicone sheets, silicone plasters, and silicone gel. Compared to cocoa butter, vitamin E, and Mederma, silicone-based products are proven to be more effective when treating scars.
As your scars fade over time, avoid direct exposure to the sun. Regardless of the procedure, we recommend that you apply hypoallergenic sunblock (minimum SPF 50) year-round to avoid hyperpigmentation or the darkening of the skin and the incisions.
