Patient decisions
How Can I Prepare for my Plastic Surgery Procedure?
Preparing for plastic surgery means addressing health concerns before the procedure and arranging the support, space and time needed afterward. In this episode, Darren M. Smith, MD, a plastic surgeon in New York City, explains practical planning topics to discuss with the treating team.
In this episode.
Episode summary
Preparing for plastic surgery means addressing health concerns before the procedure and arranging the support, space and time needed afterward. In this episode, Darren M. Smith, MD, a plastic surgeon in New York City, explains practical planning topics to discuss with the treating team.
He emphasizes that the recording provides general context: each patient and procedure requires its own instructions. Choosing an appropriately qualified surgeon with experience in the planned operation is the starting point, followed by a plan tailored to your circumstances.
Key takeaways
⚠️ Discuss smoking early.
Dr. Smith explains its relevance to tissue circulation, healing and anesthesia. A cessation plan should be part of preparation rather than left until the day of surgery.
🩹 Review existing health concerns.
The episode encourages addressing ongoing medical conditions before elective cosmetic surgery.
🔎 Consider nutrition and physical readiness.
Dr. Smith discusses adequate nutrition and conditioning as part of preparing for recovery, without providing an individualized diet or exercise program.
🎯 Plan the practical commitment.
Finances, time away from work and help during the early recovery period deserve attention before scheduling.
🩹 Prepare your recovery space.
Some procedures have specific positioning or pressure-related instructions. Ask how to arrange your home around the instructions for your operation.
Questions this episode answers
Does everyone need a nurse at home after plastic surgery?
No. Dr. Smith describes arranging nursing care for selected operations in his 2020 practice and support from a friend or loved one for other situations. The level of assistance depends on the procedure and the person's needs; confirm the current plan with your team.
When should I plan time off work?
Before the procedure, as part of scheduling and recovery planning. The episode encourages allowing for the necessary recovery period rather than assuming work can resume on the same timetable for every operation.
ℹ️ Current planning context
The ASPS smoking-risk guidance supports individualized planning that considers vaping and other nicotine exposure as well as cigarettes. The four-week smoking example and aftercare arrangements in this 2020 recording are historical, not personal clearance. Follow your team's current written preparation and recovery instructions.
🔗 Related information
Explore the practice’s preparation guide, patient guides, Dr. Smith’s qualifications, or request a consultation with Dr. Smith in New York City.
Originally released November 25, 2020. Show notes updated September 30, 2026. This is general education. Current recommendations, suitability, risks and expected results require an individual assessment.
Original show notes
Plastic surgery procedures are exciting, potentially life-changing events. Board certified NYC plastic surgeon Dr. Darren Smith offers some thoughts on how to prepare.
Read the conversation.
[00:08] I'm board certified New York City plastic surgeon Dr. Darren Smith and this is plastic surgery before and after. Your source for the real deal about plastic surgery procedures, news about trends in aesthetic medicine, and candid sessions with industry insiders. We hope you enjoy today's episode. How can I prepare for my plastic surgery procedure? Plastic surgery procedures in general are safe and you should have fairly smooth sailing through the entire process, assuming you do your homework and choose a board certified plastic surgeon that is experienced. in performing the procedure that you are interested in having done. And we have some earlier episodes on the best way to go about doing this. So the first step in making sure that you have a rewarding and easy plastic surgery process is making sure that you choose an excellent plastic surgeon that is right for you.
[01:07] But we're going to go ahead and assume that this step has been completed because we kind of went through how to do that in a couple earlier episodes, as I mentioned. And we're going to start off with talking about how you can set yourself up to do well during surgery. And then we'll move into the best way to prepare for a smooth postoperative course. This advice is really intended to be general and not applied to any specific case, as every procedure is different and every patient is different. So go ahead and absolutely listen to the advice of your surgeon, but this is just intended to provide some context when you're thinking about things on your own. So before you decide to have a plastic surgery procedure, as I mentioned, These do tend to go very, very well. They tend to be very safe, but they are real surgery. So you do need to make sure that you are set up and optimized to have the best result possible. And some basic things to do is to quit smoking.
[02:21] approximately four weeks before most procedures because smoking can one, make your anesthesia experience less safe and less comfortable. And it can also cause major problems with wound healing and can even cause tissue loss because the products in cigarettes and other analogous devices like Jules can cause the microcirculation, the small blood vessels to contract and this constricts blood flow to tissues which is essential for tissue survival and optimal healing. So definitely make sure smoking is not part of your routine for at least four weeks before most plastic surgery. procedures. It's also important to make sure that any medical conditions that you have are optimized and treated so that you are set up for a safe surgical experience. Remember, cosmetic surgery is elective, so if there is an ongoing health concern, a board certified plastic surgeon is not going to perform a surgical procedure that could potentially put your health at risk.
[03:32] It's also important to make sure that your nutrition is optimized. You want to have good protein stores and be in good general shape when you are going to go through a plastic surgery procedure. And this also goes for physical fitness. It's important to make sure that your body is well conditioned before undergoing one of these procedures to, again, make sure that you're set up for a great result and a comfortable recovery. Plastic surgery can also be on the expensive side. So it's important to make sure that your finances are in order and that this is the right time in your life for you to be having aesthetic plastic surgery. So once you have consulted with your surgeon and come up with a surgical plan and you have followed all of his or her preoperative advice to make sure that your procedure goes excellently, it's a great idea to start thinking about how to make your post-operative experience as easy as possible. And this really varies significantly by procedure, but it...
[04:35] generally means setting up your recovery space such that if you need to be taking pressure off of a certain part of your body, like after a Brazilian buttock lift, this is a very common concern. We need to often offload the pressure from the buttocks so the fat graft can survive. In the case of an abdominoplasty, you want to set yourself up so that when you are sitting down or lying down, your waist is bent so that you're not putting tension on your abdominoplasty incision. And these are just a couple examples, but there are many more that will come up in the planning and discussions that you have with your plastic surgeon. It's also important to line up any help you might need after your surgical procedure. For example, I make sure that all of my patients that are having facelifts and abdominoplasties go home with a registered nurse experienced in caring for post-operative patients to make the beginning of their recovery a smooth and safe experience. Now, a lot of procedures certainly don't require an at-home nurse for recovery, but it is a good idea to make sure that you have a friend or a loved one on hand to help you out, especially in the beginning while you're getting your bearings as you're adjusting to the recovery process.
[05:52] It's also important to plan on your work schedule and make sure that the time is good from that perspective to have an aesthetic surgery procedure with the necessary recovery time included. So hopefully these tips are useful as you start to think about what goes into having your plastic surgery procedure. And I invite you to reach out and ask more questions and join the conversation at www.askdrsmith.nyc. That's www.askdrsmith.nyc. drsmith.myc, and that's a great Facebook group that I moderate and I personally participate in, and we'd love to see you there. Thanks for listening, and don't forget to subscribe, share the show, and head over to darrensmithmd.com for more real-world plastic surgery talk.
Sources and context.
Original Captivate episode. Original release date: 2020-11-25. The recording is the source for the transcript and episode discussion. Later context in the written summary is identified separately.
Behind the conversation.
Darren M. Smith, MD, FACS