Specific aftercare
The information in this section is for general orientation and does not replace personal medical assessment, instructions or follow-up. Always follow your surgeon's recommendations.
The questions that come up once you are home and the surgery is behind you: the scar, the sun, when to go back to the gym and, above all, what cannot be left until tomorrow.
Scar care
A scar takes months to mature. It goes through a phase of being red, raised and firm, and that does not mean it has healed badly: it means it is still in progress. The final appearance is judged much later.
There are treatments that help — silicone sheets or gel, pressure, massage — but each has its moment, and starting too early on a wound that has not closed does harm. Dr. García tells you when to start and with what, at your check-up.
- Do not apply anything to a wound that has not fully closed.
- If you have a history of keloid or hypertrophic scarring, say so at the first consultation.
- Being consistent matters more than the product.
Sun protection
A young scar exposed to the sun darkens, and that pigmentation can stay. It is one of the few parts of the final result that depends entirely on you, for months.
While the scar is not closed, protect it by covering it with clothing or a dressing, not with cream. Afterwards, high-factor sunscreen, reapplied, every day and on cloudy days too. In Lima, the coastal haze does not filter the radiation.
- Clothing or a dressing while the wound is not closed.
- High-factor sunscreen daily once closed, for months.
- No sunbeds and no self-tanner on the scar.
Rest and sleeping positions
Sleeping position changes with what was operated on: some procedures mean sleeping propped up, others on your back, others avoiding one side. Yours is in your plan, and it is usually the hardest part of the whole recovery.
Set the place up before surgery. Several pillows, a reclining chair or a wedge make the difference between sleeping and not sleeping, and sleeping is part of recovering.
Physical activity
Going back to exercise is gradual and in stages: walking first, then light activity, and impact, weights and core work much later. Each stage has its moment depending on the procedure.
The usual mistake is not starting to walk early, it is going straight back to your old routine the day you feel well. Ask at your check-up about your actual sport: swimming is not the same as lifting weights or spinning.
- Ask about your specific activity, not about "exercise".
- Stop if pain, new swelling or heat in an area appears.
- Pool and sea come much later than the gym.
Going back to work
When you can go back depends on the procedure and, above all, on what your work involves: a desk is not the same as standing for eight hours, carrying weight or travelling. The rough estimate for each procedure is on its page; yours is adjusted in consultation.
If you need a medical certificate, ask for it at the pre-operative consultation and not the day before going back. And if your job means flying, say so: that has its own considerations.
Warning signs
Almost all of recovery is uncomfortable and expected. What follows is not: if any of these appear, do not wait for your appointment. Contact the practice immediately and, if you cannot get through or the situation is serious, go to an emergency department.
- Shortness of breath, chest pain or a cough coming on suddenly.
- Pain, swelling, heat or redness in a calf.
- Fever, chills or a growing sense of being unwell.
- Bleeding that soaks the dressing or does not stop with pressure.
- Pain that gets worse instead of better, or that your medication does not touch.
- A wound that opens, reddens progressively or discharges with a bad smell.
- Sudden, one-sided swelling of an operated area.
- An area turning pale, dark or cold, or losing sensation.
- Any change in vision after eyelid surgery.
- Vomiting that stops you keeping medication or fluids down.
When in doubt, call. Nobody at this practice has ever thought a patient called too often; the one we worry about is the one who did not call.
What applies to your case is given to you in writing by Dr. García, with your quotation and your consent form. If anything here does not match your sheet, your sheet is the one that counts.