Please seek urgent medical attention if you:

• Experience chest pain, shortness of breath, or irregular heart beat
• Notice excessive swelling, bleeding, redness, rash or discharge
• Experience persistent pain that can’t be managed
• Experience a fever or start to feel sick

There are a range of vitamins, supplements and medications that you will have to stop taking prior to your surgery.
It’s important that you do not resume taking these again until at least 2 weeks after your surgery, or when advised by your Surgeon or GP.
Read the full list here.

To ensure your safety and optimise your healing, you must not smoke cigarettes, marijuana or partake in any kind of vaping during your recovery period.

Following surgery, your body works really hard to heal, so rest is vital for your recovery.
Getting quality sleep helps to:

• Speed up your healing
• Prevent your immune system from becoming compromised
• Reduce stress and aid pain management

Looking after your wounds well is vital. It’s important that you:

• Don’t allow any water near your wounds as they can get contaminated. Don’t swim at all, and avoid showering for 48 hours post surgery. When you do resume showering, ensure your wounds are fully covered and remain dry.
• Don’t touch your wounds without gloves
• Don’t pull, tug at or scratch your stitches
• Don’t remove your dressings in public areas as they can be exposed to airborne bacteria

For some procedures you will be required to wear a support garment for a number of weeks post surgery.
Your Surgeon will advise you on the garment and the length of time specific to you.

These garments are a vital part of your post surgery care.
They accelerate your healing process, reduce swelling and help to optimise your final results. It’s critical that you wear them as instructed.

A nutritious diet of fresh foods high in protein, vitamins and minerals will help to speed up your recovery.

Good hydration is also key to a successful recovery. Drinking plenty of water helps to replenish the fluids lost during your surgery and aids your body’s general healing process.

To optimise your healing, avoid alcohol during your recovery period.

It is very important to maintain a stable weight post surgery.
Significant weight loss or weight gain after your surgery can cause your skin to sag or stretch, ultimately impacting your final result.

It’s important to avoid exposure to the sun as it can damage your skin and increase scar tissue.
Wear sunblock and covered clothing to protect your healing skin against harmful UV rays.

Getting moving is important to your recovery but ONLY when your Surgeon advises that it’s safe to do so. 

Depending on your procedure, light walking can generally commence 2 weeks post surgery. In most cases, normal exercise can be reintroduced 8 to 12 weeks after your procedure. The length of your recovery may vary depending on the complexity of your procedure and, as with all aspects of your recovery, your Surgeon will provide you with tailored advice.

It’s important to note that high impact activities, like running, should not resume before you have completely recovered as this can impact your surgical results.