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| After you made your first contact with your surgeon or his staff a lot of questions will start popping up in your mind. What procedure will be better for my needs? When looking for a better appearance you are very aware of your problem area but you might no be so aware of the strategy for achieving the best results. Your surgeon needs to look at your problem area to recommend the best way to address your problem. Pictures sent by email or a first consultation are very important tools to help you and your surgeon evaluate your needs. In your first consultation is very important that you be very explicit in your needs and expectations. That way your surgeon will be able to give you all the information you need to make a better surgical decision. When can I have my procedure done? After you decide the details for your surgery is time to schedule according to your calendar. It is very important that you ask how much recovery time you will need. Recovery time takes a minimum of 7 to 15 days inside the country depending on the kind and amount of procedures you want to get. Are there any requirements before the surgery? There are some tests that are required in order to assure your safety during the procedure. These tests vary with age, health status and your surgeon’s personal protocol. Some of the usual ones are: Complete Blood count with platelets Prothrombine Time Partial Thromboplastine Time HIV Hepatitis B and C. Fasting Blood Sugar Chest X Ray EKG And a Medical Clearance performed by a Cardiologist or an Internal medicine MD. The results from these tests must be sent to your surgeon’s office within a month prior to surgery or you may coordinate to have them done after you arrive to Costa Rica. They usually request a deposit at least one month prior to surgery in order to secure a space in the Operation Room. |
| The day before surgery As soon as your requirements are satisfied and the surgery scheduled your surgeon will set a pre operative appointment where they will give you the instructions to prepare yourself for surgery. The instructions will probably include: No food after 10 pm the day before surgery. The medication that you have to take the day before surgery. Prescriptions of the medication you have to take after surgery. How to clean the surgical area prior to surgery. What to expect from your recovery. What will be the outcome. At what time do you have to be in the clinic the day of your surgery. Try to vent all your worries and questions during this consultation because on the day of surgery you may not be able to do so. It is very important if you are smoker not to smoke the day before your surgery because nicotine will seriously deprive your surgery tissues from the circulation they will need to heal. The day of surgery We will provide transportation to your surgery and pick you up after your surgeon releases your from the Clinic or Hospital. Upon your arrival to the Clinic the nurse will take you to the pre operative room and help you get ready for surgery. You will be put in a surgical gown and the nurse will give you sedatives that will help you relax and induce sedation. She will take your weight and vital signs and your surgeon will be coming to take your pre op pictures and draw if necessary on your surgical area. After this you will be helped into the Operation Room where you will lay on the Operation table while they plug you into the monitoring devices. During the Surgery you will not have any conscience of what is happening nor feel any pain and you will wake up in recovery room. During your time in recovery room a nurse will be with you always guaranteeing your safety and well-being. Your surgeon will be paying visits constantly and will decide when you are ready for release from the clinic. Depending on your surgery they will put a compression garment to help you with healing and swelling. You will have to wear this garment for 24 hours a day during the first weeks, according to your surgeon’s orders. They will provide you with a sheet with post operative instructions that will help you take better care of yourself after surgery. And your next follow up appointment. Recovery Process After you arrive to Le Mas one of our medical Staff will visit you and asses your condition after surgery, take your vital signs and inspect your incisions to make sure every thing looks the way is supposed to. You will not have your final result at this point; swelling and bruising will be present and will give your surgical area an odd shaped appearance. Normally swelling increases during the first three days and after the fourth start diminishing rapidly after that. Swelling is random, but the overall behavior is to reduce from top to bottom and for 80% of the swelling to be gone after the first 3 to 4 weeks after surgery, the remaining 20% will only be noticeable to you and will take up to 6 months to completely go away. The total final result will be at this point. Our head nurse will see you almost every day and personally asses your recovery process, most of the time she will help you with you with your showers and bandages to optimize your results. Depending on your surgery you may come back with drains that we will make sure are kept clean and emptied as needed, we will also evaluate amount and characteristics of the fluid, Every day someone of our staff will help with showers if needed and wound cleaning, please make sure you ask all the questions you have. We believe that a well informed person is much less stressed and will understand better the process which delivers a better result. You will be provided with three high protein meal and fresh fruit to help you heal better. We have carefully planned your diet to boost your immune system and your body functions and help you recover better and faster. There will be fresh fruit every morning: Papaya which is a wonder fruit filled with vitamins, fiber and a very special digestive enzyme to help your digestive system deal with antibiotics. Pineapple that also has a lot of fiber and vitamins but most importantly a chemical compound called Bromelain that has a know effect on bruises and as an anti inflammatory. Also yogurt will help replenish the good bacteria that most of the antibiotic will kill. Try to eat your meal as is planned for your result. If you have any special eating needs, like food allergies, diabetes or vegetarian or vegan let us know in advance so we can adapt those characteristics to your needs. You will have probably one or two consultations with your doctor after the surgery in which he or she will also check your evolution and remove stitches or drains. When you are ready to fly home we will provide transportation for you and take you to the airport. You may always email us once you are home if you have any more questions. |
| My Surgery Process |