How Do Alcohol and Recreational Drugs Affect the Results of Aesthetic Surgery?

Before your plastic surgery, you will be asked some questions that may seem a little personal in our clinic. For example: How often do you drink alcohol? Do you use drugs?

The answers to these questions will help your plastic surgeon understand your health, avoid complications during surgery, and provide the best post-operative care.

Alcohol and drugs have physiological effects on the body. They affect basic functions such as blood circulation and breathing. Therefore, the use of these substances affects the anesthesia given to you and therefore your plastic surgery. It may cause respiratory or cardiac complications during your surgery and may impair the outcome of your surgery.

It doesn’t matter if you have a tummy tuck, face lift, rhinoplasty, breast augmentation or any other plastic surgery. Recreational drugs and alcohol consumption can weaken your immune system, prolong recovery time, and worsen recovery symptoms.

Before the plastic surgery, you will be given an anesthetic or sedative so that you do not feel pain during the surgery. If you do not share the correct information with us, the anesthetist cannot correctly plan how much anesthesia you need in advance. Having to re-estimate this during surgery can pose a dangerous challenge for your anesthetist.

Anesthetics and sedatives used in aesthetic surgery include drugs that are metabolized by the liver. Drinking too much alcohol regularly can harm liver function. As a result, this can alter your body’s response to anesthesia and its ability to metabolize anesthetic drugs. This can lead to an underestimation of the required dose, interruption of surgery, and resumption of anesthesia.

Recreational drugs and alcohol cause changes in heart rate and rhythm. This, combined with the effect of the anesthesia given to you for your plastic surgery, can lead to a fatal outcome.

Alcohol can cause an irregular heart rhythm and affect your blood pressure. For example, drinking alcohol before a breast lift surgery or liposuction procedure can increase the risk of heart problems and respiratory complications during the operation.

Drugs have significant effects on your cardiovascular system. Drugs cause fluctuations in your blood pressure and weaken your heart muscles.

It is common to have some bleeding at the incision sites after plastic surgery. Normally, your blood clots over the wound to stop the bleeding. Alcohol, which is a strong blood thinner, prevents this process and may increase the risk of bleeding after surgery. Alcohol can interfere with your body’s ability to stop bleeding, causing you to heal more slowly.

Another alcohol-related post-operative complication is infection. Regular alcohol use can weaken your immune system. This prevents sensitive surgical wounds from being properly defended. Therefore, the risk of infection increases. The ability to fight infections is weakened.

After your plastic surgery, you may be given pain relievers, antibiotics, and other medications to speed up your recovery. This is usually standard after cosmetic procedures such as breast reduction, facelift or abdominoplasty. Alcohol can affect the activity of these drugs.

Alcohol also prevents you from getting the best cosmetic results from plastic surgery, as it complicates the healing process of your cuts and wounds.

We prioritize your health and safety. We aim to give you the best results you can get from plastic surgery. Here are our suggestions on what to do about substance use before plastic surgery:

• Share with us exactly what prescription or recreational drugs you take.
• Tell accurately how often and how much you drink.
• Avoid drinking alcohol at least 48 hours before and ideally a week before your plastic surgery.
• Never use before your surgery or during recovery.

“Always remember that you play a huge role in maintaining your own health and improving the results of your plastic surgeries.”

You can contact us for all your questions. As long as you share the correct information with us, you can be sure that we will guide you correctly.

Contact us if you want to experience this with us. Your experience of plastic surgery operation will be professional and quality from start to end by Este With Care.

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