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  • Real Housewives of Atlanta's Phaedra Parks Learns Important Ways to Minimize the Risk During Surgery
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Phaedra: Now we've talked about lot of different surgeries following dramatic weight loss, but what is the downside? Is there a risk of infection?

Dr. Centeno: It's probably slightly higher on average for cosmetic procedures. It's about 1% to 3% risk. The things we look for to prevent infection in weight loss patients are we want to make sure their nutritional status is up to par -- they're getting enough protein, all of their vitamins are replaced, they are taking their vitamin supplements, that their blood level is normal. They can develop anemia because of those vitamin deficiencies. We also want to make sure their blood sugar is normal. If they've had a history of diabetes, that it's well-controlled. And then there are some of the things we can do to address the yeast colonization from the skin folds. We have patients wash with chlorhexidine to decolonize the skin. During surgery, we're very careful to keep those patients warm. That reduces the risk of infection. We give them the right antibiotics at the right time. We make sure we avoid shaving the surgical areas because shaving increases your risk of infection.

Phaedra: Wow!

Dr. Robert: So, very important issue. More importantly after surgery, we would maintain proper hygiene. We seal all of our incisions with tissue glue to prevent contamination. Patients are allowed to shower very quickly after surgery because soap and water is good. It keeps things clean, all the wounds and incisions clean. You take good care of your drain sites and get those drains out early. Using that combination of techniques, they are just common sense steps. We can dramatically reduce the risk of infection after body contouring surgery.

Real Housewives of Atlanta's Phaedra Parks Learns Important Ways to Minimize the Risk During Surgery

Real Housewives of Atlanta's Phaedra Parks chats with Dr. Robert Centeno about strategies for reducing the risk of infection during surgery.