Get the real deal on beauty treatments—real doctors, real reviews, and real photos with real results.Here's how we earn your trust.
The simplest thing is to eat a well rounded diet with protein and vegatables. In our office we have a list of vitamins, (vitamin E), and herbal supplements, (St. John's Wart, Fish Oil, etc.) that might cause bleeding. Much like ibuprofen or aspirin, they are to be avoided before, and for a time after surgery. Certain herbal or over the counter supplements can also interfere with anesthesia. Please contact your board certified plastic surgeon, and ask what their routine is. Please make sure you ask any questions that you may have.
A multivitamin can help (as long as it doesn't have extra vitamin E), but more importantly, you should eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. This will provide good nourishment while you recover.
If you are well-nourished and healthy, no specific supplements are required. However, a multivitamin and vitamin C are not bad ideas to help with wound healing. Every diet should include high quality protein and vegetables, with a minimum of processed carbohydrates and sugar. If you are interested in taking particular supplements, please review them with your surgeon as some of them may cause untoward side effects after surgery.
While additional vitamins and supplements are not usually needed postoperatively for a well nourished healthy patient, a diet with adequate protein and vitamins will produce optimal results in wound healing. Please ask your doctor for their recommendations as certain supplements should be avoided to reduce the chance for bleeding postoperatively
This question arises often. Thankfully, there is no real need for vitamin supplements prior to abdominoplasty. In fact, the USRDA says that most people in the general population do not even benefit from a multi vitamin. While people like to invest in themselves and to feel better about themselves, I feel that most vitamins and supplements are unnecessary. There are some exceptions to this remark. Many women have some degree of baseline anemia due to cyclical menstrual blood loss. Thus an iron supplement is sometimes of benefit. However, abdominoplasty should not lead to extensive blood loss. Additionally, there is some evidence that zinc supplements help with healing of chronic wounds. In short, a multivitamin will certainly not hurt your healing progress, but unless you are deficient, there is little evidence to support the need for supplements.
If you are healthy enough for elective asthetic surgery then you will not need supplements after surgery.
Most healthy patients do not need any supplements after tummy tuck surgery. Healthy life style and being active are more important in optimizing your long term results.
