A face lift is an outpatient cosmetic procedure where a plastic surgeon removes excess skin and fat around your face. This rejuvenates your appearance, potentially taking years off your looks. The post-operative period can take up to fourteen days and special care should be taken during this time. Here are a few things to keep in mind when recovering from surgery to prolong the effects and prevent infections.
No Showers
You must keep your bandages on for several days after the surgery. During that time, do not take a shower, or perform any activity that might get your bandages wet. The surgical area needs to be kept clean and dry as possible to prevent any infections from occurring. Only clean the incisions with hydrogen peroxide and cotton swabs twice a day.
Restrict Movements
Spend the majority of these two weeks resting and not engaging in a lot of physical activities. Light walks are alright to keep you from laying around the entire time, but do not perform anything strenuous like working out at the gym or carrying heavy groceries into the house. Also, do not turn your head independently from your shoulders. It should be a single movement in any direction to not pull on the stitches.
Elevate Head
Use pillows to elevate your head any time that you are sleeping or laying down. Doing so reduces the amount of swelling by preventing fluid from pooling in the facial tissue, which may also cause an infection from lack of circulation. Additionally, propping your head up will prevent you from sleeping on your stomach. Do this for the entirety of the fourteen days.
Medication
The doctor will prescribe pain medication you should take before any of the pain begins to set in. This prevents you from feeling the pain, but also from continually touching your incisions while feeling the discomfort. Do not take any aspirin during this time because it will thin out your blood and increase the chances of profuse bleeding.
If you have any questions during the recovery period, always contact your doctor. Making sure to keep the incisions clean and dry, resting a lot, while elevating your head, and only taking approved medications for the two weeks after your surgery will reduce the likelihood of infection or tearing of the stitches. Soon you will be well on your way to looking and feeling better than you ever have. Visit us at us to know more.
