How to prepare for a facelift in Marbella

Have you looked in the mirror and seen the first signs of aging, such as lines, wrinkles and sagging? If you have decided to take action by undergoing a facelift to restore a more youthful appearance, you will most likely have a million and one questions running through your mind, including how to prepare for surgery.

Even though a facelift or rhytidectomy to use the correct terminology, is a cosmetic surgery procedure, it is still an invasive procedure, which will require your body and mind to be healthy in order to recover quickly.

Whether you’re planning on having a traditional facelift or the more discreet Deep Plane Facelift, carried out by Dr Pietro di Mauro, the only plastic surgeon in Marbella specialising in this highly effective facelift technique, you’ll need to make adequate preparations.

The operation itself can take less than three hours but the preparation should really start several weeks before the planned surgery, in order to get yourself in optimum condition. If possible, Dr di Mauro recommends starting to get ready around six weeks prior to the surgery, so that you can cut out any toxins and bad habits and give your body time to recover.

The first step is always to share your medical history with your plastic surgeon in order to ascertain if you are a good candidate for surgery, and to undergo all the necessary pre-surgery tests and examinations.

When to start preparing for your facelift?

Around six weeks before your facelift is the time to stop bad habits that could affect the quality and speed of your recovery. It may seem like an excessive amount of time but six weeks should give your body enough time to start to recover and get into optimum shape. Here is a checklist of ‘don’t do’ and ‘must-do’ actions to follow before your facelift.

Step 1: Stop having fillers

It is essential that you stop having fillers injected into your face before you have a facelift, firstly because any foreign material injected into your face increases the risk of infection. If the filler hasn’t been fully absorbed into the tissue, it can attach to bacteria and cause infections.

Secondly, a facelift is a delicate cosmetic procedure that requires both skill and art, therefore the last think you need is for your surgeon to be guessing how your face should look without filler. The way fillers work by distorting the face make it virtually impossible to assess the natural volume of your face.
The different tissues are obscured by the filler, making it more difficult to separate the skin from the muscle and tissue.

Step 2: Sun protection

If you live in Southern Spain, you’ll need to take precautions to protect your skin. Avoid spending too much time in the sunshine without adequate protection to avoid the risk of sunburn. It is important that your skin is in the best possible condition before surgery.

Step 3: Stop smoking

There are many dangers associated with smoking. However, one of the main reasons you should stop smoking before a facelift is because nicotine restricts the flow of blood and increases the risk of complications during surgery and hampers recovery. Those who smoke do not heal as quickly as people who don’t smoke.

Step 4: Decrease medications

Around two or three weeks before your operation it is strongly advised that you stop taking any anti-inflammatory drugs or supplements that could thin your blood, such as Aspirin. These types of drugs have a detrimental effect on healing, by increasing bleeding and bruising. You can discuss your prescriptions and the best course of action during your initial consultation with your plastic surgeon to get the best advice.

Step 5: Stop drinking

Try to cut down on the amount of alcohol you drink in the days running up to your operation. At least five days prior to your facelift, you should stop drinking altogether. This may seem odd, as alcohol is often offered to calm nerves, but similar to smoking, alcohol thins the blood and increases the risk of excessive bleeding.

Step 6: Eat healthily and drink water

This point is so obvious that it almost didn’t make the list. It’s important to try to follow a healthy diet and exercise regime and to keep yourself hydrated in the weeks leading up to your surgery. A well-nourished and healthy body will promote a much quicker healing and recovery time.

Step 7: Shopping

After your surgery, you will need to follow your personalised post-operative recovery plan, which will include lots of rest and no shopping! Approximately one week before your facelift, you should start thinking about stocking up on the items that you will need for the first few days, for example buying easy to eat soft foods, soups and drinks such as water and fruit juice.

Step 8: Meal preparation

If you are in charge of preparing your meals, you can save yourself the hassle after your surgery of cooking by preparing simple healthy snacks and meals to freeze. This means you don’t have to worry about your own food or your family’s during your initial recovery stage.

Step 9: Prepare your home and schedule

You will need to spend a lot of your initial recovery time in bed, making sure you are in the right position, which will require pillows. Before you go to the clinic get everything in to position for when you return: pillows, books and anything else that you will need within arm’s reach.

Step 10: Arrange for someone to help you

Make sure your partner, friends or a family member is on-hand to help. To start with, you will need to be driven home from the clinic after your facelift and they will need to stay to assist you for at least a couple of days while you rest and recover.

If you are considering undergoing a facelift in Marbella, find out more about Dr di Mauro’s cosmetic surgery expertise and qualifications by arranging a confidential no-obligation consultation, by calling 648 43 45 93.