Emotional Aspects of Surgery

After your surgery, it is important to remember:

• Physical Restrictions: Nobody enjoys being stuck in bed, depending on others for help, and being forced to take a pause in our normal routines. While healing after surgery or procedures, temporary feelings of restlessness, boredom, helplessness, and uselessness can be common. In addition, the lack of physical activity at this time can lead to a shorter supply of your body’s natural endorphins being produced, which can sometimes leave you feeling somewhat down or depressed. Please remember that the more you allow yourself to rest when needed, the quicker you will start to feel better and back to your normal self. Overexertion can potentially increase normal healing times, cause additional swelling or bruising, put stress on wounds, and sometimes contribute to more significant scar formation.
• Bruising and Swelling: The surgery/procedure may be done, and you are now home resting. All of the anxious and excited emotions from before the surgery have started to disappear, but, when you go to the mirror to sneak a peek, you find that you are greeted by a bruised, swollen and asymmetric version of yourself! This is completely normal and to be expected. We understand that it may sometimes evoke new emotions of anxiety, and this is normal as well. Please remember that bruising and swelling is temporary! With the appropriate time and care that your body needs, it is most likely that your body will heal exactly the way that it should. If you have concerns regarding excessive bruising and swelling, we encourage you to discuss your concerns with our office. It is also very common for one side of your face or body to heal somewhat slower than the other side. This is completely normal and should not be a cause for major concern
• Be Patient. Nobody likes to look worse immediately after undergoing their cosmetic procedure! Please try your very best to relax, and realize that your body needs adequate time to heal and recover before your final results will be visible. Give yourself a break, and try to remember that your healing is the most important goal right now. Other things can wait. Allow your body plenty of the time that it needs to recuperate. Remember to keep your best end result in mind as an incentive to be patient. Healing after cosmetic surgery requires emotional strength just as much as the physical, so it’s important to prepare for this accordingly.
• Don’t worry about the peanut gallery. Some of your friends and family may have their own opinions regarding your procedure. We know how important it is to have the support of your friends and family throughout your healing process. However, it is very important to remember that while people close to you may have your best interests in mind, often times they do not have all of the correct information or specific experience to appropriately guide you through your individual post-operative journey and healing. Sometimes, while trying to help you, they can inadvertently create some additional anxiety. Every individual person heals somewhat differently, and directly comparing your experience to someone else’s can sometimes create some unnecessary stress. If you have questions about your individual healing, feel free to ask Dr. Lewen or our trained office staff. We are here to help you!