Dr. York Yates Plastic Surgery

Recovery Guide for Dr. Yates Patients

Dr. Yates has provided the following guide to help patients prepare for surgery and recover from surgery. IMPORTANT, please review the procedure instructions for YOUR specific procedures by clicking the procedure links on this page. If you are having or have had more than one procedure in the same surgery it will be important to review them all.

General Recovery Tips

Minimizing Bruising and Swelling

Scars

Preparation for Surgery

Prepare your house for surgery
1-2 weeks before surgery you should have your childcare, work arrangements, and caretaker lined up. Depending on the procedure you may have a few recovery items on hand. Start with an organized, clean house and full pantry. If you are making meals, simple prep. meals, and disposable dinnerware.

Prepare your body for surgery
The weeks before surgery are a good time to maximize a healthy diet and stay on top of the exercise. Yoga and heart-healthy exercises are particularly valuable. For almost every procedure stopping smoking 6 weeks before surgery is valuable. For some, it is critical. Avoid excessive alcohol and marijuana prior to surgery as well. Alcohol can thin the blood, and marijuana can affect our sedation protocols; we ask you to avoid both for 2 weeks prior to surgery.

Check your medications and supplements
Some medications such as aspirin, fish-oils, and some supplements can contribute to bleeding and bruising after surgery. If you would like to take SinnEcch for bruising you would want to do so before surgery. The benefit is mild in Dr. Yates’s opinion but some patients swear by it.

Stay away from illness
Avoid getting sick, wash your hands frequently, and avoid contact will people who are ill.

Travel arrangements
We require a responsible adult to be with you at all times immediately after surgery for at least the first 24 hours. Traveling with a care-taker is ideal but other arrangements can be made. Out of town patients should review https://www.yorkyates.com/out-of-town-patient-guide/

Time Off Work and Exercise

Recovery Supplies

Dr Yates will give you most everything you need after surgery including garments, bra, scar cream, and dressings as indicated. A few recommended additional supplies are

Bed that reclines, recliner, or extra bed pillows
Icy Hot back patch
Loose baggy clothes
Paper tape 1″
Ice packs
Stool Softener such as Colace
Ginger Ale
Antacid such as Tums
Melatonin (not to be used with pain medications)
Benadryl
Cortisone cream
Neosporin
Probiotics or yogurt
Second stage Spanx or Flexees for appropriate procedures
Flexible straws for drinking
Water bottles/ Gatorade
Entertainment such as DVD or Netflix
Cell phone charger near bed and sofa

After Surgery Instructions

Medication Management

Three Day Pain Management Protocol (unless allergy)

Tylenol 500 mg - Take 1 every 6 hours for three days
Celebrex (anti-inflammatory) 200 mg - Take one capsule 2x a day for three days. This is a similar drug-class as Ibuprofen and it is unadvisable to take both together. We recommend Celebrex for the first three days followed by Ibuprofen as needed.
Gabapentin/ Neurontin (nerve modulator) 300 mg - Take one capsule twice a day for three days. If there is minimal pain or the medications feel too sedating these can be stopped.
Oxycodone 5 mg, if unable to control pain adequately with Tylenol and Celebrex add one tablet every 6 hours as needed
Do not add Aspirin
Diazepam/ Valium (Muscle Relaxer) - for breast augmentation patients this can be added for muscle stretch discomfort. Caution when taking with other narcotics
After these three days you may add Ibuprofen (600-800 mg) for inflammatory pain. Caution not to take Celebrex and Ibuprofen together.
Take Zofran or other nausea medication and light food prior to pain medications
NO Marijuana or other non-prescribed pain medications while taking narcotics

Nausea

Prior to surgery, we will have you take anti-nausea medication (Zofran typically) that will last several hours. You may also get medication for nausea during surgery
You may take your anti-nausea medication every 6-8 hours for nausea as needed.
For patients prone to motion sickness we may also use a scopolamine patch before surgery.

Antibiotics

You will receive an IV dose of antibiotics during surgery
Start taking your antibiotics as directed the day after surgery
If you are having problems associated with antibiotics such as yeast infection, rash or other concerns let Dr. Yates know and we may prescribe a different antibiotic or even have you stop taking them entirely depending on the concern

Other

Some patients experience constipation while taking narcotics. You may purchase Colace or Miralax at any drugstore. Try to get off of the narcotic pain medication as quickly as possible
Stool softeners should be used for patients prone to constipation, preferably starting before surgery.
Some patients experience itching as a side effect of an antibiotic or narcotic. You may take Benadryl 25 mg every 6 hours as needed
If you experience a yeast infection, please call or text our office and we will call in a prescription to your pharmacy

Follow-up routine

Our routine follow up schedule for most procedures is at day one, 3 weeks, 3 months, and one year (and as necessary)
At ANY POINT along the recovery, do not hesitate to contact us with any concerns. Thats what we are here for
These appointments can be done through the symplast app or in-person
For in-app visits, Dr. Yates or our staff will contact you through the app. Your response should include photos or videos and a report of progress and concerns.
At each interval, please review this recovery section of the website
Turn on alerts for symplast

Recovery