How Can I Prepare my Body/Skin for Surgery?

Thank you for your question.  There is no strict creams and diet which prepares you for surgery.  I always suggest to my patient that any herbal medication, to stop taking 2 weeks before the surgery.  As some of these can have components which can thin the blood.  Also, I would NOT advise Arnica tablets as have resulted in more bruising in a lot of my patients.  Have a good diet before surgery and keep hydrated.  Every surgeon will have differ protocol so please do follow this.  All The Best 

You should have specific
instructions from your plastic surgeon on the pre-operative management, pre-operative vitamins and supplements to take and
medications to stop taking prior to surgery. If you do not have this, this may
be a red flag that you are seeing a plastic surgeon who is truly prepared to do
your operative procedure.

As long as you are in good health, don’t smoke, and eat a relatively healthy diet, there are no special preparations other than following the instructions provided by your surgeon

Dear facelift Patient from Maryland,
I personally recommend Arnica Montana, Vitamin C, Vitamin K for all of my facial plastic procedures. Certain Vitamins and herbal medications should be avoided to prevent bruising and bleeding. You should follow your own surgeon’s advice, since he is the one performing the procedure. Good luck and good healing.
 

There are several things you can do to prepare your body and skin for surgery. A good skin regime such as Obagi is highly recommended. Many offices have an esthetician that could assist you in the correct application for your skin type. Diet is very important, you want to eat healthy with lots of leafy greens such as iron rich spinach. Take a good multi-vitamin daily, but check to see the amount of vitamin E, you do not want to take more than 400 IU a day as that could interfere with blood clotting. Check the labels, most have only 400 IU.

Your surgeon should give you a list of what to avoid starting 2 weeks prior to surgery, there are many supplements, herbs and vitamins that have blood thinning qualities to them and need to be avoided and not restarted until 2 weeks after surgery. Starting Arnica Montana a day before surgery will help with the bruising, "Sinecch" is a good brand that is premeasured specifically for surgery patients and is a higher dosage than what you can get at the health food stores. Many plastic surgeons offices keep it in stock. And of course exercise is important even if it is just walking 30 minutes a day, it helps with your circulation among other obvious benefits. These are all good habits to start now and continue for life.