Cosmetic surgery can change how you look and how you perceive yourself but it is important to remember that at the end of the day, it is still surgery and it carries some risks as well benefits to be aware of.
The biggest concern with any type of invasive surgery is the formation of blood clots which can travel throughout the body in the blood stream and lodge in the heart, lungs or brain causing a life threatening incident or even death.
To combat this risk factor, your doctor will encourage you to be as active as possible as soon as possible. Complete bed rest will actually do more to increase your chances of a blood clot than combat it. For many patients the discomfort or pain from surgery can make it hard to want to do anything but even walking to the bathroom or down the hall can help keep your blood circulating and make a difference.
Other risk factors include infection. Your cosmetic surgery professional combats this by ensuring that the facility they operate in meets high standards for cleanliness. Toward this end you can make sure that your surgeon is a board member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and that operating facilities have been blessed with the ASPB seal of approval. You can also ensure that your risk of infection stay low by following your surgeons post op rules for your treatment and care.
Other risk factors such as bleeding, prolonged pain and discomfort from nerve damage and unfavorable scaring are all factors that you can't really control yourself but you can make sure that the plastic surgeon you pick is highly qualified and skilled to handle your cosmetic procedure. You can make sure your doctor is an ASPB member which guarantees that they have at least six years of experience as a surgeon and at least three years of experience doing plastics. There are no guarantees that you won't have problems in surgery even with the best surgeon but you can hedge your bets and make sure you look for the best doctor to look out for you.
Finally there is always the risk of experiencing a reaction to the anesthesia which is why it is important to be honest about your health risk factors and medical conditions. Patients, who smoke, take illegal drugs or prescription drugs that their physician is unaware of or drink alcohol may be more at risk for complications especially if your doctor and anesthesiologist are unaware of what you are taking.
Your doctor may require you to stop taking some medications and to stop consuming alcohol and smoking weeks or months before your surgery to ensure you sail through with no problems. So be sure to have an honest discussion with your doctor about any of these issues before your cosmetic surgery date approaches to safe guard yourself and your health.
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