You may have considered breast augmentation surgery for months or years prior to deciding to have the surgery. But once you make the decision and schedule the surgery, the time for slow deliberation is over. Women in Allen, TX are busy people – we’ve met you, we know. This means taking some time away from responsibilities for surgery requires organization and planning.

There are many details, large and small, to put in place before your surgery. Afterward you want to focus on recovery and recovery only. A plan to get that done  will make it possible.

Before you schedule your surgery

Know how you will manage your time away from work. Employers handle this in different ways, so knowing exactly how your company views elective procedures is important. Will they allow you to take sick days, or will you need to use vacation time? Or will it be some combination of the two? If your work involves heavy-lifting, you may need more time away than someone with a desk job, so how will this affect your income?

Who will be available to help you during your recovery? Do you have family members or friends who can drive you to and from your procedure and make sure you have everything you need for the first few days after surgery? Go ahead and discuss potential dates with them before scheduling so you know they will be available to help. If you don’t have someone who can help in this way, now is the time to find the resources you will need to help you during this time.

Who will take care of the children? Young children often expect to be picked up and carried around, and older children often need to be driven around. If these tasks primarily fall to you, work out an alternative plan for this before scheduling your surgery.

Quit smoking! Smoking will impair your healing after surgery, and the longer you quit prior to surgery, the better off you will be.

Eat in a healthy manner as much as possible. Start consuming healthy whole foods, including lots of fruits and vegetables. Avoid most processed foods and stop – or at least cut back – on alcohol. The healthier you are when you have surgery, the better the outcome you can expect.

After you schedule your surgery

Get your medical appointments on the calendar. Before you have surgery you will need lab work and an assessment of your cardiac function to be sure surgery is safe for you. After the surgery you will follow-up with your surgeon to make sure everything is healing properly and to answer any questions that arise.

Getting all of these appointments on your calendar ahead of time will make your planning much easier.

Arrange transportation. Before you scheduled your surgery, you identified the people who could help with this. Now it’s time to call on them, because you won’t be able to drive right away. Get your surgery and follow-up appointments on their calendar, not just yours. If you have children involved with activities, make arrangements for their transportation, too.

Organize household needs. Make sure bills are paid, the house is clean, and other tasks are managed ahead of time so you can focus on recovering. That’s your only job after surgery.

Improve your health. Quit drinking, quit smoking (you already did that, right?) and eat healthy foods during this time. Being in the best possible health will help you heal and recover as quickly as possible.

Plan your recovery meals. We hope you have a spouse or loved one who will cook gourmet meals for you while you recover – or all the time for that matter. But the reality for most busy families in Collin County is different: when one person is down, the other often picks up a number of extra responsibilities. A freezer full of healthy homemade meals will help you get the quality nutrition you need and keep you from relying on the deliveryman diet.

Create a recovery kit for yourself. Fill a lightweight tote with essentials you want to have at hand while you recuperate. Include your phone charger, a pen and notepad, favorite books or magazines, tissues and wet wipes, Chapstick, lotion, mints, and phone numbers for your surgeon and pharmacy. You can move your tote from your bed to the sofa as needed and keep everything you need at your fingertips.

Plan your wardrobe. No evening gowns here. Comfortable, loose clothes are the style for recuperating from surgery. A warm-up suit with soft pants and jacket that zips up the front will be easiest to manage. Be sure you have something like this ready to wear for the first few days after surgery.

Get your prescriptions filled. You don’t want to have to stop at the pharmacy on the way home from surgery. Take care of this in the days before your procedure so you have your medications on hand as soon as you arrive home.

After your surgery

Recuperate. The point of doing all that planning before your surgery is to allow you to rest and recover after your breast augmentation surgery. The goal is not to have a post-op to-do list. With a little preparation, you will give yourself the best shot at an easy recovery and beautiful results.

If you are ready to plan your breast augmentation surgery, please get in touch. Dr. Slack will help make the process as simple as possible.