Preparing for plastic surgery starts well before the day of your procedure. Most surgeons recommend beginning at least four to six weeks out, with steps that range from adjusting medications and nutrition to setting up your home for a smooth recovery. The better you prepare, the fewer complications you’re likely to face and the faster you’ll heal.
Stop Smoking at Least Four Weeks Before
If you use nicotine in any form, this is the single most important thing you can do. Smoking restricts blood flow to your skin, suppresses your immune response, and impairs collagen production, all of which directly interfere with wound healing. In plastic surgery specifically, smoking increases the risk of skin flap necrosis, wound disruption, and surgical site infection.
Multiple systematic reviews recommend quitting at least four weeks before surgery. Patients who stopped smoking four or more weeks before a procedure had complication rates comparable to nonsmokers, while those who quit less than four weeks out still carried significantly elevated risks. This applies to cigarettes, vapes, nicotine patches, and nicotine gum. Your surgeon needs your blood vessels functioning at full capacity to deliver oxygen to healing tissue, and nicotine constricts them regardless of the delivery method.
Review Every Medication and Supplement
Many common over-the-counter products increase bleeding risk, which can lead to excessive bruising, hematomas, or complications during surgery. Your surgeon will ask you to stop these well in advance, typically two weeks before your procedure.
The major categories to flag include:
- NSAIDs and aspirin: ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), aspirin (Bayer, Excedrin), celecoxib (Celebrex), and meloxicam (Mobic), among many others
- Blood thinners: warfarin, clopidogrel (Plavix), and similar prescription anticoagulants
- Herbal supplements: fish oil, garlic, ginkgo biloba, ginger, green tea, St. John’s wort, feverfew, kava kava, valerian, echinacea, and ephedra
- Vitamins: vitamin E and high-dose vitamin C
Bring a complete list of everything you take, including supplements you consider harmless, to your preoperative appointment. Some prescription medications need to be continued through surgery, while others don’t. Never stop a prescribed blood thinner on your own; your surgeon and prescribing doctor will coordinate that decision together.
Optimize Your Nutrition Early
Your body needs raw materials to repair tissue after surgery, and building those reserves takes time. Protein is the most critical nutrient for wound healing. A general target during the recovery period is at least 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, spread across meals in portions of 20 to 40 grams per sitting. For a 150-pound person, that works out to roughly 110 grams of protein daily. Starting this pattern two to three weeks before surgery helps ensure your body isn’t playing catch-up afterward.
Hydration matters just as much. Well-hydrated tissue heals faster, and dehydration after anesthesia is common. In the weeks leading up to your procedure, aim to drink consistently throughout the day so you go into surgery with good baseline hydration. Cut back on alcohol at least a week before surgery, as it thins the blood and contributes to dehydration and swelling.
Complete Your Preoperative Testing
Your surgeon or primary care doctor will order lab work and possibly other tests to confirm you’re safe for anesthesia. Common preoperative tests include a complete blood count, blood glucose, electrolyte levels, kidney function studies, and coagulation studies to check how well your blood clots. Depending on your age and health history, you may also need a chest X-ray, an electrocardiogram, urinalysis, or a pregnancy test.
Schedule these early enough that results come back before your procedure date. If anything comes back abnormal, you’ll need time to address it without delaying surgery. Most surgeons want these completed within 30 days of your procedure.
Know the Fasting Rules
If you’re having general anesthesia, you’ll need to arrive with an empty stomach to prevent the risk of aspiration during the procedure. The American Society of Anesthesiologists and the European Society of Anesthesiology both recommend the same thresholds: no solid food for at least six hours before anesthesia, and clear liquids are safe up to two hours before.
Clear liquids means water, plain tea or coffee (without milk or cream), broth, and light juices like apple juice. Anything with pulp, fat, or particles counts as a solid. Prolonging your fast beyond these windows offers no additional safety benefit and can actually work against you by worsening dehydration and destabilizing blood pressure during anesthesia induction. Follow your surgical team’s specific instructions, but don’t assume that fasting from midnight the night before is still the standard.
Set Up Your Recovery Space
You won’t feel like organizing anything when you get home from surgery, so do this at least a day or two beforehand. The goal is to make the first 48 to 72 hours as effortless as possible.
A reclining chair is often more comfortable than a bed for the first few days, especially after facial or breast procedures, because it keeps you elevated and makes getting up easier. If you’re using a bed, stack extra pillows to keep your head and upper body raised. Move everything you’ll need to within arm’s reach: phone charger, medications, water bottles, lip balm, tissues, the TV remote, and reading material.
Stock your kitchen before surgery. Prep simple meals or buy ready-to-eat options that are high in protein. Paper plates and disposable utensils eliminate the need to wash dishes when lifting or bending may be restricted. Fill your prescriptions in advance so they’re waiting for you when you get home. Pick up a stool softener too, since pain medications and anesthesia commonly cause constipation.
Arrange Your Support System
You will not be allowed to drive yourself home after anesthesia, and most surgeons require that a responsible adult stay with you for the first 24 hours at minimum. For many plastic surgery procedures, having someone available for the first one to two weeks makes a significant difference. If you don’t have a family member or friend who can help, ask your surgeon’s office about trained home caregivers who can assist with daily activities and monitor your recovery.
Your caregiver should know your medication schedule, understand what warning signs to watch for (your surgical team will provide this list), and be comfortable helping you with basic tasks like getting in and out of a chair, changing dressings, or preparing food. Brief them before surgery day so they’re not learning on the fly while you’re groggy from anesthesia.
Prepare for Bruising and Swelling
Some degree of bruising and swelling is inevitable, but you can reduce the severity by starting a supplement called bromelain, a pineapple-derived enzyme, about a week before surgery. UPMC recommends 500 mg twice daily for one week before and two weeks after surgery to help reduce bruising and swelling. Check with your surgeon before starting it, as you would with any supplement.
Have cold compresses or gel ice packs ready at home. Loose, comfortable clothing that doesn’t need to be pulled over your head is essential, especially for facial or breast procedures. Button-front or zip-up tops are ideal. If your surgeon has prescribed a compression garment or postoperative bra, make sure you have the right size before your procedure date.
The Week Before Surgery
In the final week, tie up the loose ends. Confirm your surgery time, arrival time, and location. Arrange transportation. Wash your bedding and clean your recovery area so you’re coming home to a fresh space. Some surgeons ask you to shower with an antiseptic wash the night before and morning of surgery.
Lay out what you’ll wear to the surgical center: loose clothing, slip-on shoes, and nothing with metal (no jewelry, piercings, or underwire bras). Leave valuables at home. Pack a small bag with your ID, insurance card, a blanket or pillow for the ride home, and any compression garments your surgeon wants you to wear immediately after.
If you have specific skincare products you rely on, bring those to the facility or have them at home. Hospital-provided moisturizers tend to be basic, and your skin may feel especially dry after the procedure. Just confirm with your surgeon that none of your products are contraindicated for the type of surgery you’re having.