Preparation starts a fortnight out, not on the day
Once the date is booked, most people assume there is nothing to do until it arrives. There are a few things in between that change how the surgery goes.
Medication takes time to clear, and blood results sometimes change the plan. None of it can be done the night before.
Preparation has two aims: less bleeding during surgery, and a shorter recovery afterwards.
Neither is settled by what happens in theatre alone. The condition you arrive in decides half of it.
Most of what follows is easy enough. It only works if you know about it in advance.
Treat the day the date is booked as the day preparation begins. Sorting it out before the clinic chases you makes the pre-operative visit much quicker.
Some medication has to stop first
Aspirin and anticoagulants slow the clotting process. If you take either, the schedule usually has to be adjusted around two weeks out.
Anti-inflammatory painkillers belong to the same group. Plenty of people take them routinely for headaches or period pain, and switching to something else for this stretch is the safer route.
Supplements count too. Omega-3, vitamin E, ginkgo and red ginseng can all increase a tendency to bleed.
What matters most is not stopping anything on your own. Medication prescribed for a heart or vascular condition is more dangerous to interrupt than to continue. The prescribing doctor and the surgeon decide together.
Paracetamol is usually fine to carry on with. It works through a different mechanism.
Note when you stopped, as well as what. The interval feeds into the decision on the day.
Herbal preparations and juices count too. Their contents are often unclear, which is exactly why they need checking.
When each step happens
| Timing | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Two weeks out | Adjust aspirin, anticoagulants and anti-inflammatories; stop smoking; pause omega-3 and similar supplements |
| One week out | Blood work, ECG, chest film; adjust the plan against the results |
| A few days out | Stop alcohol, ease off salt, arrange someone to travel home with you |
| The night before | Begin fasting, remove nail polish, set out front-buttoning clothes |
| On the day | No make-up, lenses or jewellery; final check of medication |
Smoking is the one with numbers behind it
Smoking slows wound healing. The small vessels feeding the skin narrow, and less oxygen reaches the tissue.
An analysis of 40,465 plastic surgery patients found smoking associated with higher rates of postoperative wound complications and infection. How much it mattered varied by procedure.
Two weeks before surgery is the usual advice, carried on through recovery.
Vaping is no different. Nicotine narrows vessels whatever form it arrives in.
The wider the treated area, the more this matters. A larger surface leans harder on the blood supply beneath it.
Longer is better, but cutting down even close to the date helps. It gives constricted vessels some of their calibre back.
Sitting in someone else’s smoke has an effect as well. Avoiding it through recovery is worth doing.
What the tests look for
Blood work checks for anaemia and for how well your blood clots. Liver and kidney values are read at the same time.
An ECG and a chest film establish whether you can take the anaesthetic.
Liposuction begins by infiltrating the tissue with fluid containing local anaesthetic. The amount of lidocaine available is therefore set by body weight, and the calculation cannot be exceeded. Practice guidance for liposuction treats that calculation as a pre-operative checkpoint.
An existing condition adds to the list. Thyroid disease and diabetes both bear directly on how quickly you recover.
A result that flags something can move the date. Sometimes moving it is the better outcome.
Results feed into the surgical plan too. Anaemia sometimes means adjusting the volume removed.
Records from any previous surgery are useful to bring. How you responded to an anaesthetic before is important information.
For women, the cycle is worth planning around
Bleeding runs slightly heavier during a period, swelling settles in more, and pain is felt more sharply.
Where the date can avoid it, it does. Where it cannot, telling us in advance is enough.
The contraceptive pill is worth mentioning as well. It bears on clotting risk.
Surgery does not go ahead if pregnancy is possible. Where it is uncertain, a test settles it.
Breastfeeding is discussed separately, because of the anaesthetic.
A period also makes the compression garment less comfortable, which is another reason it factors into scheduling.
What TheLINE confirms before surgery
We re-check the scope agreed at consultation against how you are on the day of the pre-operative visit. If your condition has shifted, the scope shifts with it.
Anything you are currently taking is reviewed at the visit, and we separate what has to stop from what can continue.
Test results are explained before surgery. A single value is sometimes reason enough to move the date.
When the aftercare programme starts is settled at this visit too.
The compression garment is made with a manufacturer who has produced thousands of them. That accumulated fit knowledge is why ours sit close to the body without either slackening or leaving marks.
We also discuss how the first few days will go. Living alone, or having someone to help, changes the advice.
Work and study commitments are read alongside. An over-ambitious return slows recovery down.
The night before and the morning of
Fasting begins the night before. If you are told that includes water, it includes water. The point is to prevent vomiting under anaesthesia.
Come without make-up, and without nail polish. Coloured nails interfere with the oxygen probe.
Loose clothing that buttons at the front is easiest. Anything that comes off over your head is awkward once lifting your arms is uncomfortable.
Arranging for someone to travel home with you is the safer plan. Judgement stays clouded for a while after sedation.
Leave contact lenses, rings and earrings at home.
Depending on the area treated, you will be told what underwear to arrive in.
An afternoon slot still means fasting from the night before. That is a common thing to get wrong.
If any of your regular medication has to be taken on the morning, confirm it in advance. Blood pressure medication is the usual example.
Worth doing in the weeks beforehand
There is no need to lose weight quickly. It only drains the reserves recovery draws on.
Drinking enough water and easing off salt leaves less swelling to deal with afterwards.
Gentle walking helps, and it carries straight over into the recovery period.
Cutting out alcohol a few days out is worth doing. It bears on how much the liver has to process alongside the medication.
Sleeping properly helps as well. Recovery is work the body does.
Sorting out constipation beforehand is worth it. Straining is uncomfortable after abdominal surgery.
Having what you need at home ready helps: front-buttoning clothes, a straw, a low pillow.
What this article does not settle
The intervals here are general. Your own schedule depends on what you take and how you are.
Preparing well does not remove the possibility of a complication. It lowers the odds.
Pre-operative instructions differ between clinics. Your surgeon’s instructions are the ones to follow.
This article does not replace a consultation. Anything you are currently taking has to be checked in person.
Following the preparation does not guarantee a recovery speed. Variation between people is wide.
Frequently asked questions
Can I have surgery with a cold?
Usually it is postponed if you still have a fever or a cough, because the airway is more easily irritated under anaesthesia. It depends on how mild the symptoms are, so call ahead.
Do I have to stop every supplement?
No. The ones that matter are those linked to bleeding: omega-3, vitamin E, ginkgo extract and red ginseng. Send the list of what you take and we will say what to pause.
How many days of not smoking is enough?
Two weeks is the advice. A shorter run does less, but a few days without is still better than none.
Should I lose weight before surgery?
Rapid weight loss is not advised. It leaves you with less to recover on. Holding your usual weight is the better position to be in.
What does TheLINE check beforehand?
We re-confirm the agreed scope at the pre-operative visit and tell you what to stop taking. Test results are explained, and the date is moved if they call for it.
