HairBoutique Blog

One of the known side effects of face lifts is the amount of swelling that occurs right after the surgery.  Although its natural for the face and body to swell after surgery, the swelling will start to decrease as the face heals.  Some patients notice a reduction in swelling after only a few days but for others it may take longer.

Why do some patients heal quickly while others maybe not so much?

Wellness experts understand the importance and benefits of combining mind preparation with solid nutritional programs two to four weeks before undergoing plastic surgery for a faster overall recovery.

Once a patient has been deemed a good candidate by their plastic surgeon they can go on a “face lift diet” to prepare their mind and body for a very successful surgery with reduced swelling.

They can also have an attitude re-adjustment by learn self-hynopsis techniques, meditating and performing positive affirmations.

A good friend of mine (Michaela) who was scheduled for surgery went to a renowned Dallas hypnotherapist, Betty Erickson Elliott, renowned psychotherapist daughter of Dr. Milton Erickson (Father of Hypnotherapy) who prepared my friend for plastic surgery with hypnotic suggestions designed to minimize pain, the need for excessive post-op drugs and accelerated healing.

Betty also taught Michaela self hypnosis techniques to help her relax and visualize a successful post-op experience.

The hypnotherapy part of the face lift diet was a success. Not only did my friend get through surgery with minimal pain, her doctors were amazing at her reduced requirement for pain killers and her unusual rapid recovery time.

A second friend (Bunnie) went on a specific nutritional pre-plastic surgery food plan to strengthen her immune system and minimize post-opp swelling.

Working with a nutritional program designed by an expert nutritionist to minimize swelling, she adopted the following food plan starting four weeks before surgery to minimize her water retention and encourage better overall fluid balance:

1.  Strictly avoided all types of alcoholic beverages including beer.
2.  Cut back drastically on the use of salt, MSG and salty snacks.
3.  Amped up consumption of lean proteins such as fish and chicken.
4.  Increased ingestion of rich fruits and vegetables such as citrus fruits, squash, broccoli and other brightly colored foods.
5.  Cut out sugar and all unnecessary “white” carbs such as pasta, bread and related.
6.  Weaned her caffeine consumption back as far as possible since caffeine can impact body fluid balance.
7  Drank more water on a daily basis to flush system.
8.  Substituted carrots for less healthy snacks.

One great trick to eliminating water retention is to squeeze the half of an organic lemon into a glass of water and heat until hot (cool enough to drink).  Use a straw to sip the brew to avoid doing damage to the enamel of your teeth.

Besides working on their mind and body, my two friends could have also benefitted from a vitamin pre-op program.  Studies have shown that increasing amino acid consumption can assist in strengthening body tissues in preparation for the surgery.

Other vitamins that can help increase face lift recovery times when taken before, during and after the experience include:

• 1,000 to 2,000 mg of daily calcium which assists with blood clotting
• 1-2 capsules of Flaxseed or similar rich oils
• 500 - 1,000 mg of magnesium which helps regulate the heart
• 1,000 - 2,000 mg of Vitamin C which assists with skin repair for collagen
• 50 mg of Zinc

Some naturopathic physicians believe that Vitamin E can be beneficial although it would need to be discontinued one week before surgery since it can increase bleeding.  Vitamin K can also assist with blood clotting.

Before undertaking any of the different diet suggestions listed above including hypnotherapy, nutritional counseling or vitamin therapy, consult with your plastic surgeon to make sure that it is a safe program for you to follow.

To discuss other plastic surgery issues be sure to visit the Plastic Surgery form on the HairBoutique.com Hair Talk Forum.

For additional related information refer to:

Magic Foods For Luscious Locks

Tags: diet to reduce water retention, diet to speed healing, hypnotherapy, Plastic Surgery Diet, plastic surgery post-opp swelling

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 at 6:02 pm and is filed under Beauty Beat, Diet & Exercise & Health Stuff, Plastic Surgery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.