painkillers, before
the operation. It can also be nice to get a friend or relative to drive the
patient home, particularly if he or she returns home on the same day as the
operation.
A support bandage must be worn for a period after some operations elastic
stockings, pantygirdles, brassieres etc. It is wise to try these on well beforehand.
Many plastic surgeons recommend obtaining them before surgery, and the clinic
can often help find the right size and type.
The plastic surgeon usually prefers for the patient to pay for the operation
in advance or at the time it is done. Payment should therefore be thought
of and arranged well before the surgery is scheduled.
Since for many cosmetic operations the patient is anesthetized either generally
or locally, it is important to have neither food nor water in the stomach.
Vomiting during any stage of the operation clearly increases the risk that
food or fluid will get into the air passages. This can be dangerous, since
an anesthetized person does not have normal coughing reflexes. The patient
should neither eat nor drink before the operation. Six hours of fasting were
formerly recommended, but now most anesthetists allow liquid foods such as
soup, yoghurt etc. up to four hours before surgery and clear drinks like tea
or water up to two hours before.
Finally, it should be pointed out that many plastic surgery clinics have a
fairly tight surgery schedule. It is therefore advisable to show up too early
rather than too late. It is also wise to reserve plenty of time, even for
minor operations, since quite a bit of time may be required for both preparation
and post-operative care.
The preparations for the operation also include an important picture-taking
session. Without doubt, photographic documentation is more important in plastic
surgery than in any other medical specialty. Appearances can be verbally described
in great detail, of course, but a picture says much more. The pictures taken
before the operation therefore fill several important functions. They are
a valuable journal record that documents what the plastic surgeon does, and
also an important tool for scientific documentation of advances made with
new surgical techniques. Also, most patients really enjoy seeing the changes
that have been made in their appearance. It is not unusual for patients to
adapt so well to their new appearance that they tend to forget how they used
to look. At the checkup, when they receive their pictures, they frequently
exclaim, “Did I really look like that!â€
Sometimes the pictures can also function as valuable input for the discussions
prior to the operation, like the computer image simulation (morphing) of digital
photographs described earlier. It is important to try to standardize the pictures
as much as possible, so that the “before†and “after†images can be compared.
A plastic surgeon should therefore try to become a competent photographer,
or else engage a professional for that purpose.
Photos should be made without cosmetics if possible, or at least with the
same amount of cosmetics on both the “before†and “after†shots. This is sometimes
difficult, and unfortunately not all the pictures in this book meet this criterion.
