How important are post op appointments?

Post op appointments are sometimes equally as important as the quality of the surgery.  Patients sometimes misunderstand post operative instructions and unfortunately do exactly the wrong thing.  These can be corrected easily by a surgeon who sees his or her patients often during the first couple of weeks.  Micromanaging a post operative patient is good for both the patient and the surgeon.  Neither patient nor surgeon want complications, and these can be avoided if the surgeon who has done hundreds, if not thousands, of these types of surgeries is in control.Unfortunately, well meaning patients and/or their caregivers can cause a complication unwittingly.  One example is where a patient wanted to make sure her armpits were clean after a transaxillary breast augmentation.  She washed them three times per day vigorously with antibiotic soap, which not only killed bacteria but also killed healing cells and opened her armpits.  A good plastic surgeon sets aside time in each day to see his or her post operative patients.  A good patient doesn't skip these appointments as they are an essential part of the surgery.  

Part of the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic was to halt all non-urgent surgical procedures in order to preserve hospital capacity, personnel and equipment for a potential surge of coronavirus patients. In addition the governor of California gave similar instructions to be followed until May 15th. During this time our office has provided urgent care for wounds and infections among other urgent patient-related issues.  We have treated patients with no insurance, Medicaid, and Medicare with no reimbursement services by insurance. I have continued in-office follow-ups for serious issues with only one patient in the office at a time; less urgent issues are resolved through emails, Skype, or telephone conversations. Our number one priority is patient safety as we continue to take these precautions.

Thank you for your question.  Post op appointments are very important to make sure everything is healing OK.  If they aren't able to see you in the office then I would recommend asking for a virtual followup .  Best of luck to you.