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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