Follow All Post-Operative and After Care Instructions Closely
Philadelphia, PA
It’s critical to follow all instructions after cosmetic or plastic surgery. Failure to closely follow post-operative and after care instructions can lead to a higher risk of complications or problems. It’s not really a complicated concept. The instructions are given to the patient to maximize healing and to give the best odds to heal well. People who don’t do this run a risk of increased problems and worse results. After surgery, it’s important to Go Slow and BE WISE! This educational writing was written by me at the request from a patient from Philadelphia, PA.

I specialize in cosmetic surgery. It’s the only operations I perform in plastic surgery. It allows me to perfect my craft and to enhance my surgical skills. But it’s not just the surgery and the techniques that are important. We also have to recover well. I spend a lot of time and effort discussing the after care instructions or post-operative instructions for all my patients. This is just as important as the surgery. Mistakes can be made afterward that can cause complications, problems, and decreased results. I believe this is so important to the success after cosmetic surgery that I wrote a book on this topic. It’s titled A RECOVERY GUIDE TO COSMETIC SURGERY. I wrote it over Covid. It’s a great book reviewing essential recovery instructions. It has lots of pictures and images to assist understanding what is required of a patient. It is my third book on cosmetic surgery. You can purchase it through the office, Amazon, or BookBaby.Com.
I believe some patients think plastic or cosmetic surgery is not “real” surgery. It absolutely is! It is real surgery that gives improved appearance, enhanced shape, and younger bodies. It also has real risks. Patients often focus on pre-operative instructions and things before surgery, and then afterwards forget that recovery is just as important. You must understand how important recovery is to allow the best healing. Mistakes with bandages, medications, activity, and restrictions can lead to medical problems that can be avoided. Cosmetic surgeries like liposuction, blepharoplasty, and facelift operations often have minimal pain. Small amounts of pain can lead to patients over doing it. The small amount of pain often makes people think they can do more than is recommended physically. Minimal pain can lead people to forget the importance of after care instructions. Do not do this! Follow all instructions closely.
I will give you an example of someone not following the after care and not taking the operations seriously. A patient had a tummy tuck by me. She came in 4 days after surgery for a post-operative follow up visit. She was actually doing very well. The PAIN BUSTER had worked so well that she had minimal pain and was telling other patients this. But she walked into the office swinging her drainage tubes like a cowboy swings a lasso. This is not wise obviously. She had been given explicit instructions on how to care for her drains. Unfortunately, she developed an infection. Most likely from poor handling of the drains. She was given antibiotics and she healed well. She was happy with her results. But the point of the story is she didn’t follow the instructions and developed a problem that most likely wouldn’t have happened. Follow after care instructions to the “T.”
GO SLOW AND BE WISE! These short instructions are an overview and guidelines to all instructions. All my patients get my personal cell phone should they have problems. My web page ChrisSaundersMD.Com has all the instructions for your ease. Go to the PATIENT PORTAL to find them. The educational writings under Menu will also review instructions and provide more advanced information for those interested! You can review instructions after a facelift now by linking to this part of my web page. It will give you a clear picture of what is required. You can link there now. After cosmetic surgery. Go slow and Be wise. If you follow these sage words, you will probably keep out of trouble and minimize risks.
