Your first follow-up office visit will be a day or two after your surgery. At this appointment or a later one, your doctor will remove drainage tubes (if any) and any bandages. The surgeon will also remove any sutures, skin clips, splints, or packing during surgery.
In the weeks ahead your life will return to normal. Your doctor may give you a specific timetable indicating when you can resume normal activities, such as:
- Taking a shower
- Using a hair dryer - probably on the low se tt ing at first
- Wearing your glasses or contact lenses
- Brushing your teeth, shaving, pu tt ing on makeup
- Resuming non-strenuous activities
- Driving a car, which will most likely be when you can turn your head easily
- Resuming sexual activity
- Returning to work if it's not physically strenuous
- Resuming strenuous activities, such as heavy housework and noncontact sports
- Going swimming
- Playing contact sports
The be tt er you take care of yourself - following your doctor's instructions to the last detail - the sooner you'll be back in the swing of things and enjoying your younger, fresher look.
Common Side Effects
With each day that passes after surgery, you'll feel more energetic and you'll start to see the benefits of your new look. Healing can be a gradual process, but you can speed it along by following your doctor's instructions and taking as much downtime as he or she recommends. Keep in mind that you may experience some normal side effects as you're healing.
Soreness. Severe pain is unusual after facial cosmetic surgery, but you may feel some stiffness, tenderness, or possibly mild headaches at first.These symptoms can be easily managed with prescription or over-the-counter pain medication. Take only pain relievers prescribed or recommended by your doctor; products containing aspirin or ibuprofen can thin the blood and interfere with healing.
Bruising. You might see temporary bruising, which will fade quickly. Your doctor can recommend camouflage makeup suitable for both men and women.
Swelling. Using ice packs according to your doctor's instructions should keep swelling to a minimum. Bags of frozen vegetables, such as corn or peas wrapped in a towel, work well.
Temporary scarring at the incision lines. Your surgeon will have placed the incisions where scars will be inconspicuous, and they will fade over time, becoming barely visible. In addition, itching, slight bleeding, oozing, and crusting may occur at the incision site.Your doctor will tell you what to expect following your procedure and will tell you how to minimize any side effects.
Low mood. It is not unusual to feel a li tt le down now and then during the first few weeks of the healing phase. Keep in mind why you wanted the procedure and how wonderful you will look very soon. If you're well prepared with ways to entertain yourself and if your emotional health is generally stable, your low mood is unlikely to last. Make arrangements for work and family responsibilities while you recover so you won't lie there fretting about what's not being done. Upbeat books and movies can occupy your mind and lift your mood.
Temporary numbness, loss of sensation. At first, you might experience numbness in the area where incisions were made.This common occurrence is a result of small nerve branches, under the skin, being cut or stretched during a procedure.These nerves should heal, restoring normal sensation to the area. In some cases, numbness may take several months to completely resolve. [back][next] |
