Beauty Doc Blog

June 26.08

It is an ongoing question for many who are planning a surgical procedure — Is the summertime the best time of the year to have plastic surgery? It might be for others but not necessarily for you. Or, if you are a winter buff, it may be the perfect time to have that breast augmentation, tummy tuck or facelift surgery.

The first thought most people would have is positive in that regard. Summer is, after all, a traditional time for taking vacations, allowing the patient who works to take time off from the job with ease. Summer is a more mentally relaxing season than the others for most people, and the need to rest and recuperate after the procedure is performed is more easily handled in the summer time. Also a spouse or perhaps older children will be able to be home to help out while the patient rests and relaxes in the summer.

Summer however is the warmest season, with the strongest sun, which creates the most danger of over exposure to the sun and that should be taken into consideration as well. It all depends on the plastic surgery procedure that has been performed of course, but most physicians will warn clients to avoid too much sun exposure until the healing process has fully occurred, and even afterwards use of strong sun block and wearing hats with wide brims to protect the face, and sufficient clothing to protect other parts of the body is always a good idea for anyone, most especially those who have recently undergone plastic surgery.

If the procedures performed also included dermabrasion, microdermabrasion or chemical peels – especially deep chemical peels, then the new skin is quite sensitive. Too much sun or too much heat can cause pain and discomfort at the very least, and permanent damage is also quite possible. In some people it can be quite severe. The patient should look at the sun as something to be avoided, which can be quite a change from the “sun worshiping” attitude many people had when younger, hanging out at the beach, the lake or the swimming pool.

Some people prefer the two cooler seasons, spring and fall, to recover after plastic surgery. Not too much heat or too much cold, more moderate temperatures, less direct exposure to the sun, and a chance to rest and recuperate while other people are at work or going about their daily lives. A side benefit of using the spring for plastic surgery is that the patient is usually quite recovered by the time summer rolls around and is able to engage in summertime fun activities – provided protection from the sun is taken into consideration – with the downtime behind her and not interfering in the summer vacation.

However, if you want to fly under the radar and not have everyone in the office talking about what you did or didn’t have done, the summer months, when you have time off scheduled anyway is an ideal way to have the plastic surgery - cosmetic, reconstructive or otherwise - done and no one will question why you are off 2 or 3 weeks since you were taking vacation anyways!