After Your Surgery

Post Operation Instructions (PDF)

Time to Recover

You must allow yourself a period of time to recover after your operation. Be prepared to wait 1-2 weeks before you are presentable. Below are estimates for a few common procedures; most patients are presentable after these time periods.

  • Rhinoplasty: 7 days
  • Endoscopic Browlift: 7 days
  • Blepharoplasty: 8-10 days
  • Facelift: Approximately 14 days

Remember that it will take more time, in some cases several months, before you will see the final results of your surgery.

Diet and Nutrition

It is very important for you to eat nutritious foods during your healing process. You will feel stronger sooner.

Start with soft foods such as baked or mashed potatoes, cooked vegetables, Jell-O, pudding, sorbet, applesauce, bananas, canned fruit, cottage cheese, tuna fish, eggs, oatmeal, cream of wheat, any type of baby food, warm soups, protein shakes and dietary supplements such as Ensure.

Drink plenty of liquids. Avoid acidic juices, which may irritate your stomach, and milk, which causes mucous to thicken.

Avoid the following:

  • Diet foods and diet drinks – Your body needs calories for proper healing.
  • Salt.
  • Spicy foods.
  • Hot foods, which may cause bleeding. Warm foods are safe.
  • Smoking.
  • Alcohol.

After nasal surgery, avoid the following for 24 hours:

  • Straws
  • Extreme temperatures – Hot food or drinks may burn your mouth as a result of temporary numbness and may cause further bleeding, swelling and bruising. Cold food or drinks may induce coughing.
  • Dairy products – Milk, cheese and ice cream may thicken your mucous. Eggs, yogurt, butter, sour cream and popsicles are safe.

Physical Activity

Always have assistance when walking on the of your surgery. We encourage you to begin walking immediately following your procedure, provided that you do not overexert yourself. An elevated heart rate can cause bleeding, particularly during the two weeks following your surgery.

Beginning two weeks after your procedure, you can try non-impact exercises such as a stair-master, elliptical trainer or stationary bicycle. You can also add light weight training at this time. Sexual activity can safely be resumed at two weeks following facial plastic surgery.

At four weeks after your procedure, you may run and fully exert yourself. At six weeks after your procedure, you may return to contact sports. Please note that you should not wear swimming goggles until two weeks after a facelift or eyelid surgery and four weeks after rhinoplasty.

Other Things to Expect

Each person heals differently. It is possible, although infrequent, that we might advise you to undergo a secondary (usually minor) procedure to address issues that occur during the healing process.

Observe in yourself and in those around you that no human body is symmetrical. The two sides of any person’s body do not look the same and aesthetic surgery cannot make them look exactly the same.

Our purpose and goal in aesthetic facial surgery is improvement, not perfection.

Whether you are currently contemplating a procedure or you have already decided to undergo facial plastic surgery, be prepared to hear all manner of stories and judgments from friends and family.

If you ask for an opinion about the procedure you have chosen, many people will not act in a supportive way. Many will tell tales of difficulty: this is an unfortunate fact of human nature. Occasionally, friends and family may act in a more supportive way once they know you have made the definite decision to undergo facial surgery.

After surgery, almost everyone will forget their negative statements and admire the results. They will see, for the first time, exactly what you were talking about.

Feel free to call our office if you have any questions or concerns before or after your surgery.