Prior to your surgery, you would have had at least two consultations with Mr Yaprak. If you have any questions at all working up to your procedure, please feel free to contact the rooms, and we would be happy to book you further pre-op consultations to ensure you are well informed, and to answer any questions you may have about your upcoming procedure. At your second consultation, you will be measured for your abdominal binder which you will wear post-operatively.
You will be given a date for your procedure. Your procedure will take place in Braemar Hospital, in Hamilton. Prior to your procedure you will be asked to fill out two pre-op forms online. One is for Braemar Hospital, and one is for the anaesthetist. You will meet the anaesthetist on the morning of surgery, but if you would like to talk to him to discuss your anaesthetic prior to your surgery day, he is happy to call you and answer any questions you may have.
It is very important if you are a smoker, to stop smoking, and the use of any nicotine based products for at least 6 weeks prior to surgery, and 4 weeks post op. Smoking affects your body’s ability to heal, significantly, so ceasing smoking pre and post op is recommended.
In the weeks working up to your surgery, it is important to look after your health to minimise the risk of illness prior to surgery. If you do become unwell working up to your surgery date, please notify Mr Yapraks rooms as soon as you can.
Please ensure that you have support at home for household chores for post op. If you live alone, you may want to pre-prepare meals, and ensure you have groceries that will last you at least a week post op if you do not have someone to do this for you.
Please expect that you may not feel like driving for about 1 week post-operatively, so we recommend you do not book further appointments in this period. If you have child pick up/drop off commitments, we also recommend you arrange assistance with this for at least a week post op.
You will be required to wear an abdominal binder for 6 weeks after your surgery. You will be fitted with this after your surgery. Please ensure that you have tops/shirts that are loose fitting and open down the front, and pack one of these in your hospital bag for when you are discharged home. It is recommended that you have a few tops like this, as they will be more comfortable to get into and wear in the weeks following surgery.
If you have not confirmed your admission details and starving instructions, please contact Mr Yapraks rooms on 07) 838 8984
On admission to Braemar, you will see a pre-op nurse. You will also see the anaesthetist that will carry out your anaesthetic.
Following this, Mr Yaprak will carry out the final written consent process, and take pre-op photos if he has not done so in your consultation.
You will be shown to your post-op room and prepared for surgery.
You will not be able to eat for 6 hours before your admission time.
Please let us know if you have diabetes or any other dietary considerations that may be affected by this.
You will, however, be able to drink water only up until 2 hours before your admission time to hospital. These details will be given to you 1 week before your operation date.
Mr Yaprak will assess your readiness to be discharged home after at least one night in hospital.
You will have drains in post op. Often these are removed between 5-7 days post op, in the clinic. Braemar hospital will supply you with a bag to put these in so you can mobilise with these at home.
You will then have an appointment booked in Mr Yapraks clinic to have these drains removed.
Sometimes a district nurse will be organised by Braemar staff to come to you at home and check these drains a few days after discharge.
You will be given a prescription for pain relief and antibiotics. With this procedure, it is also recommended that you take aspirin for 4 weeks post operatively to help with blood flow.
While you are in hospital you will have an injection to help with blood flow, and then on discharge, this will be changed to aspirin. Please ensure that the driver that is picking you up from the hospital can stop at a pharmacy and get this prescription for you.
You will be discharged from hospital with your suture lines taped with wide white tapes. You may also have a padding over this. You will need to keep these areas dry for 48 hours. If your padding is in place, this can be removed prior to having a shower 2 days post op.
You will also need to remove your abdominal binder prior to having a shower also, and this is to be put back on straight after you have dried your tapes and skin. A hair dryer is the most effective way to do this.
You will have a clinic appointment between 5-7 days post op. At this appointment your taping will be removed, and your suture line will be checked. These areas will be taped again after this. We will also assess whether we are able to take your drains out or whether they should be left for another couple of days.
We recommend that your scars will be taped for about 3 months post operatively. This continual taping helps with settling and supporting your scar as it heals. At about 4-6 weeks, you may commence gentle massage over the taping, along the scar to help soften the scar tissue. You will be shown how to do this at your follow up appointment.
When it comes time to remove all taping at 3 months, we do recommend that gentle massage continues with a moisturiser. Any unperfumed moisturiser is fine, but Vitamin E or vitamin C, or rosehip infused moisturisers are beneficial for scarring.
Gentle mobilisation is important post operatively to prevent blood clots. Please ensure you mobilise around your house and ensure that if you are sitting for long periods, that you actively move your legs and feet. You will likely be discharged from Braemar with compression stockings.
Please continue to wear these for 1 week following the surgery, or until your mobilisation increases. You will be able to increase your mobility over the weeks following surgery, but you will not be able to increase to strenuous exercise for 6 weeks post op. It is normal for you to feel tired for at least one week after your surgery, so allow your body time to heal and please don’t rush back into a lot of activities.
Please expect that you are likely to have bruising on your abdomen, and sometimes this comes through a few days after your surgery. This can appear around your suture line but also higher on your abdomen also.
It is quite normal to ‘hunch’ over following your surgery, and things will feel tight. This will settle. Do expect that you may feel like walking with a hunch for 2-3 weeks post op. Please don’t try and straighten up too soon, and don’t rush this process. 😊.
Diet is extremely important following abdominoplasty surgery. Please ensure that you have foods available that encourage regular bowel movements. We do not want you to suffer from constipation, so a high fibre diet and increased water intake is very important.
Please incorporate extra fibre-rich foods and good water consumption for a week prior to your surgery and carry this on for a couple of weeks post op. In addition to this, Vitamin C is also recommended, as this assists in healing.
Once the wounds have settled, we will organise 2-3 follow up appointments for you in the year following your surgery to come into clinic for review.
We ask that you please call us if you have any questions, or you would like to be reviewed sooner.
We acknowledge that this is a lot of information, so please remember that this is just an indicator of typical expectations of what to expect following your surgery, and your recovery may vary slightly from timeframes that have been mentioned.
The most important thing for us, is that you keep in touch with us, remembering that we are here to support you through your recovery.
We look forward to carrying out your procedure for you.
Kind regards
Mr Bulent Yaprak and team. 😊
For more information on Abdominoplasty surgery from the Australiasian Plastic Surgery Society, CLICK HERE
