Liposuction Preparation: Essential Pre- and Post-Op Guidelines

Tumescent liposuction is the preferred method of liposuction among board-certified plastic surgeons. Pre- and post-operative guidelines vary among doctors. Here are the basics.

Things You'll Need

• Loose Clothing
• Loose clothing

Show More

Instructions

• 1

  Research your procedure thoroughly. Understanding it will help calm your anxieties and hasten your recovery.

• 2

  Stop taking all medicines (such as aspirin) that can interfere with clotting two weeks prior to your surgery. Check with your surgeon for specifics. Vitamin E can interfere with clotting as well.

• 3

  Quit smoking two weeks prior to your procedure. It interferes with healing.

• 4

  Make sure you've got everything you'll need after surgery, including medications. You don't want to have to make trips to the store post-op.

• 5

  Forego shaving any hairs near the surgical site, 24 hours or longer, before the surgery. Shaving over the liposuction region before surgery can cause ingrown hairs after the surgery.

• 6

  Don't eat or drink after midnight the night before the procedure.

• 7

  Sign a surgical consent form.

• 8

  Be sure to tell your doctor about every medicine you are allergic to.

• 9

  Wear loose-fitting clothes. After the procedure, you will want to slip into something soft and unbinding.

• 10

  Ask someone to drive you to and from the procedure, since you'll feel weak afterward.