6 Wellness Tips For A Smoother Surgical Recovery

How Your Pre-Op Care Impacts Your Post-Op Healing

How do you make your post-op recovery faster, easier, and more comfortable? Well, it all starts with pre-op!

Prioritizing overall wellness is always important, but it especially makes an impact during surgical recovery. Your body needs to have the building blocks required to support your healing process.

Here are six easy ways to improve and speed up plastic surgery post-op recovery!

1. Stop Drinking & Quit Smoking

You don’t have to go on pre-surgery bedrest, but you should begin to take it easy in some areas, including tobacco and alcohol consumption at least 6 weeks prior to surgery. Smoking and drinking reduce blood flow which prevents healing and prolongs the entire post-op recovery timeline.

2. Protein is EVERYTHING!

After surgery, your body is in rebuilding itself and recovering strength. After surgery, your body goes through the catabolic phase, which essentially is your body breaking things down. You need to have protein stores to act as building blocks during the catabolic phase. When you consume protein after surgery, it aids the efficiency of healing. If you are not getting enough protein, try adding additional amino acids to your diet.

3. Eat The Rainbow 

Have you been “eating the rainbow” when it comes to fruits and vegetables? If your answer is yes, then perfect- keep going! But if you’re like most people and your answer is no, then invest in a good multivitamin. Our bodies should always be getting the things they need to thrive, but this is especially important when preparing for surgery.

4. Harness The Power Of Probiotics

Probiotics have been proven to decrease the risk of GI infections in the colon, but also decrease upper respiratory infections and UTIs in women! This is once again proving how big of an impact our gut health has on our overall health.

Probiotics also decrease two main inflammatory markers, which is huge for surgery recovery. Inflammation is the enemy of healing, so probiotics can help keep inflammation down while promoting overall health.

5. Invest In Those Vitamins

Give yourself a boost by introducing new vitamins into your regimen. Vitamin C and calcium are great in the beginning stages of healing. The final stages of healing end at around 6 months or so, and zinc and magnesium are excellent for that final stage.

And we can’t stress this enough: across the entirety of your healing journey, protein is going to be your best friend!

6. Everyone’s Favorite: Sleep

This is when we heal and rebuild. Can’t quite get those 8+ hours of restful sleep? Try melatonin! Melatonin is a hormone that is naturally released by our bodies as a response to darkness. Using this supplement helps to encourage sleep, establishes an optimal circadian rhythm and works as a strong antioxidant.

Do You Feel Completely Prepared For Your Upcoming Surgery? 

The entire Donaldson Plastic Surgery team is here to make sure you feel taken care of post-operatively. While the above tips are generally universal for easing your recovery, you are still an individual! You have unique responses to different foods, supplements and lifestyle decisions. By getting to know you a little better, we can make sure every aspect of your experience is customized for optimal results – from your initial surgical prep all the way to your overall wellness plan.

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About The Author

With more than 17 years in family practice and sports medicine, Dr. Marguerite Weston has become one of Ohio’s leading functional wellness experts. She uses her wealth of experience to create customized pre- and post-operative plans for Donaldson Plastic Surgery patients in an effort to help each individual recover faster and fully – while preserving their incredible results.