• What medication should I avoid
before my operation?
Since bleeding is a risk of any
surgery, and even more so with
invasive surgery or more complex
procedures such as cosmetic surgery,
you have to be careful in taking
prescription, over the counter, and
herbal medicines. Generally, you
should check with Dr. Seballos about
medication you can take pre-op. All
pain relievers such as ibuprophen,
Motrin, Advil, non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory medicines, aspirin
or aspirin containing substances
should not be taken for 3 weeks
pre-op. Even common cold medicines
may contain these pain relieves that
can cause excessive bleeding during
surgery and after surgery.
Medications such as coumadin,
heparin, Lovenox and Plavix
specifically given to thin the blood
because of some medical condition
some patients may have, should only
be stopped under the direction of
either Dr. Seballos, or the
prescribing physician. Prescription
medicines for high blood pressure
and high cholesterol, for example,
can be taken with sips of water.
• What can I eat before surgery?
Generally, you should not eat
starting midnight the night before
surgery, or at least 8 hour before
surgery. Eat something light and not
too greasy or heavy the night before
surgery. Alcoholic beverages should
not be consumed 24 hours before
surgery.
• What about smoking?
Smoking adversely affects healing.
You should not smoke for 6 weeks
before any major cosmetic procedure.
Some procedures involving skin
flaps, muscle flaps and breast flaps
are significantly affected by
smoking. You may experience delayed
healing or death of the surgical
flaps. Please advise your doctor if
you continued to smoke before
surgery. Passive smoke or second
hand smoke is also bad for healing.
Please ask all loved ones or friends
to not smoke in your presence before
and after surgery.
• Where will my surgery be
preformed?
Dr. Seballos performs his surgery
either in a hospital or and
accredited surgery center. He does
this to ensure the safety of his
patients and where they can be
provided the best care.
• Who will be performing my
surgery?
Dr. Seballos performs his own
surgery, as he is not teaching
residents or interns. With over 12
years of private practice and 20
years total in surgical experience,
you will be in good hands. There
will be, as customary, surgical or
physician assistant who assist him
in surgery and help in the closure
of operative wounds.
• Who will be administering my
anesthesia?
When a local procedure is done, Dr.
Seballos will be injecting the local
anesthetic. When sedation or general
anesthesia is performed, either an
anesthesiologist or a certified
nurse anesthetist (CRNA)/anesthesia
assistant (AA) supervised by an
anesthesiologist will be overseeing
your anesthesia.
• What prescriptions will I be
receiving?
Generally, you will be given a
prescription for pain such as
Tylenol with codeine, Darvocet, or
Percocet. You will likely get a
prescription for an antibiotic. If
you are prone to constipation, it
would be a good idea to take a stool
softener starting the day before
surgery as lack of activity and
narcotic pain medication can cause
constipation.
• What should I do before surgery
to have a smoother post op course?
Try to arrange that someone can be
with you the first 48 hours after
major cosmetic surgery. Someone
should drive you to your first
visit, and subsequent visits if you
still are having a lot of
discomfort, or if you require
narcotic pain medicines to relieve
your pain. Have meals frozen and
made for easy preparation. Have
housework such as cleaning and
laundry done ahead of time. Have
your grocery shopping done as well.
Remember, you will not feel like
doing errands post op. It helps to
have someone who can do things for
you until you are ready to do these
average daily activities that we
routinely take for granted.
• How long will I be off work?
Again, this will depend on your
procedure(s), and what kind of work
that you do such as a sedentary job
versus a laborer. It will also
depend on your pain tolerance as
well. We all heal and recover
differently, so there will be some
variability. At the very least,
expect to miss at least one week
off, or more.
• When is my payment due for
surgery?
Generally, health insurance
companies do not cover cosmetic
surgery. Your payment is due 10
business days before surgery. You
will also be expected by the surgery
centers to pay in full by the
surgery date, and usually when you
go in for pre-op testing or
evaluation. Credit card, check or
cash payments can be made. Please
check with our staff. Some local
banks of your choice may be able to
give you a better deal on loans.
Procedures done in the office are
due at the time of service by credit
card or cash.
• When will I be seen post op?
What about drains and sutures? You
will be asked to call to set up an
appointment after surgery about 2-4
days post op. The surgery center or
Dr. Seballos' staff may call to
check on you the next day after
surgery. Patients are usually seen a
couple of times the first week post
op, then once or more the second
week. The stitches are generally all
discontinued within 2 weeks or
sooner. Drains will remain,
depending on the procedure, for 3
days to up to 2-3 weeks. This will
depend on how much is coming out of
the drain.
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