Plastic surgery is becoming a common thing nowadays, with things like nose jobs and face lifts almost becoming everyday procedures in some large cities. Certainly, there are a number of psychological and emotional benefits to such procedures, but only if they are properly done. Also, even if these procedures are performed flawlessly by the surgeon, there are still some things that need to be kept in mind after the surgery itself, not the least of which is the need for post-surgery therapy. There are even a few things that need to be taken into account before something like this is even considered, outside of an emergency situation where the procedure is reconstructive and not aesthetic in nature.
The first thing to consider would be the reasons for the surgery in the first place. If the procedure is not meant to repair damaged tissue and is merely cosmetic, plastic surgeons will often have the patient speak to a psychologist before agreeing to the procedure. There are a myriad of reasons for this, not the least of which is to reduce the chances of mistakenly performing a procedure to “perfect” someone’s appearance on a person who is psychologically incapable of recognizing an absence of flaws. The more ethical plastic surgeons are willing to perform procedures only on people who require them or do not have some sort of psychological issue that might cause problems if surgery is carried out. However, this is merely what needs to be done before one goes under the knife, with what needs to happen afterwards being a completely different scenario.
There can be any number of things that must be taken into consideration when it comes to post-surgery therapy, particularly for plastic surgery. For example, in the case of liposuction, there is usually a set number of days of minimal or controlled food consumption. This is because whatever was done during the procedure needs time to “stick,” as it were. Binge eating will not only damage what the liposuction was supposed to do, but it may also cause additional damage as side effects.
In general, the surgeons themselves will inform their patients of what needs to be done and what things should be avoided before they’re discharged. Whatever they say must be adhered to almost religiously, because these procedures and limitations were designed to help the body fully heal after whatever was done. Yes, there is a recovery time in place after the surgical procedure itself, but the body needs more time to really “settle.” Some types of cosmetic surgical procedures might also require the use of certain medications, with various effects. Some are designed to help the body accept the changes, while others are used to reduce some negative symptoms, such as pain.
The precautions to be taken after the fact hold true even when the procedure is reconstructive in nature. These sorts of medical procedures can sometimes be rather invasive, with a number of available techniques requiring that areas of the patient’s body be cut and pathways into deeper cavities opened up. In the end, these procedures require time for the body to fully recover from them, much like other forms of surgery.
