Good aftercare is a two-way street

News today that PR Queen, Roxy Jacenko, is not following her doctor’s orders after breast augmentation surgery has President of the Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (ASAPS), Dr Mark Magnusson concerned.

“When patients do not follow the postoperative advice they are risking their outcome.

“There are three crucial elements to obtaining the maximum result from surgery: choosing the correct procedure with realistic expectations, a technically well-performed procedure and finally a good recovery, which involves adhering to postoperative activity restrictions.

“Good aftercare is a two-way street, and while we can advise patients to take the requisite time to allow themselves to heal properly if patients aren’t shouldering some of the responsibility themselves by adhering to this advice, then that’s a real problem.  Achieving these results is teamwork.  The first two steps are our responsibility as surgeons, but we can only advise for the recovery period. Following these instructions is up to the patient.

“Remember, it’s not only the scars that you can see on the outside that need time to heal.  Depending on the surgery you’ve had performed, your Specialist Plastic Surgeon may have cut through several layers of your skin and muscle to gain access to the required site to perform the procedure properly,” Dr Magnusson said.

Dr Magnusson said the downplaying of cosmetic surgery procedures with the proliferation of unscrupulous providers offering cut-price services has led to a misconception about the time it can take to heal properly.

“There has been a rise in advertisements in recent years offering supermarket services – the drop in on your lunch break and have this or that done, which has caused many to believe they can rush back to their pre-surgery life including exercising.

“What I advise my patients before embarking on any procedure is to ensure they’ve allowed for the proper time to heal, be it time off work, arranging for family duties to be done by someone else, or putting off travel.

“Patients having procedures such as a breast augmentation or a tummy tuck can expect restrictions in activities and performance for three months and with complete healing taking longer still.  After some procedures, specific actions will change the rate of complications and revisions in both the short and long term.

“To achieve the best possible result from your cosmetic surgery, it’s essential that patients are adhering to their Specialist Plastic Surgeon’s advice and if that means refraining from the gym for a couple of months, then so be it.  After all, why would you want to go to such an expense only to be disappointed with the results?” Dr Magnusson said.

To find a member of the Australasian Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons to perform your cosmetic procedure visit our find a surgeon page.

Ends

Media contact: Julia Power, National PR and Marketing Manager, 0414 276 990.