A Guide to Preserving Your Mental Wellbeing During Your Plastic Surgery Journey

Many patients expect plastic surgery will improve not just their bodies but also their mindset by increasing their self-esteem or confidence. Plastic surgery can be life-changing, but it's not magic.

Plastic surgeons are talking about mental health with patients before ever stepping into the operating room to make sure their expectations will match the actual results. It's not about trying to diagnose a mental health issue but making sure you understand and are up for a mentally challenging journey.While you may see a marked difference immediately after a plastic surgery procedure, it's critical to remember final results aren't immediate and often take longer than you expect. Bruising and swelling can last for weeks. It can be months, sometimes more than a year, before the ultimate outcomes appear.Experiencing regret about the decision to have the procedure during the early stages of healing is normal.You'll need to be patient while you wait to see your final outcome.You may find it difficult to rest and restrict your movements for several weeks as you recover."I find that very active patients have a very hard time mentally in their recovery period," said Kelly Killeen, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, Calif. "People that are used to being up and around and moving their body every single day, they have a really hard time sitting still and being present in their body and not moving. These patients have a hard time no matter what's going on in their recovery because it's not their normal."It's important you consider your relationship with yourself and others before deciding to have plastic surgery. The outcome may not be what you hope unless you are doing it for the right reasons."When people say things like, 'This is going to make my husband love me again. This is going to help me find a boyfriend. This is going to make me want to work out.' That's not what surgery does," said Dr. Killeen. "Surgery makes an objective change to your body. It can't make you feel differently about your body, and it can't make other people feel differently about you."Consultations are key for surgeons so they can suss out why you are choosing to have a certain procedure.Understand while you can make changes to your body it is unlikely to make changes to someone else's attitude towards you.Obviously, you're already familiar with how you looked before the surgery. Now, there is a different face or figure reflected back at you in the mirror. It can take a bit of time before your eyes fully recognize the new you."You could be very excited to change some feature that wasn't to your liking, but you sometimes forget that feature was how you identified for decades, and maybe all of a sudden it's different," said Dr. Killeen. "I think some of the mind games that go on when you're sitting still not doing your normal things, and dealing with these changes can be really traumatizing for the first month or two after surgery."Intake paperwork for many plastic surgeons now includes more than just your name, height, weight, medications and previous surgeries. They want the bigger picture of your wellbeing."That's really some of the magic of plastic surgery that they don't teach you in training is how to evaluate a patient and figure out whether they should have a surgery," said Dr. Killeen. "The key is having an understanding of whether the surgery is the right thing to do for that patient."Yet, results often can substantially change your wellbeing for the better."There's nothing better than that first postop appointment when you take their bandages off, and they jump out of the chair and look at the mirror, and the tears come to their eyes because they're so excited about what they see," said Dr. Killeen. "The positive impact from these surgeries is massive."It can also change how you interact with the world.The best to ensure both your physical and mental wellbeing when considering a plastic surgery procedure is to connect with a board-certified plastic surgeon who is an ASPS member for the best results.

Read the full article on ASPS.