There are things we must and mustn’t do to have a faster recovery from a neck-lift procedure. For optimal results, treating your body right plays an important role. The key factors include:

• Proper nutrition 
• Regular sleep and recreation
• Abstaining from harmful substances
• Taking vitamin and or mineral supplementations if directed by your doctor to do so

Provided that you keep your body healthy, you give yourself a huge advantage in your recovery.

Much of the preparation for plastic surgery is physical, but you should also not neglect the psychological aspect of preparation too. For example, avoid stressful situations that can trigger unhealthy coping mechanisms such as alcohol or tobacco consumption. 

Our Advice on Tobacco and Alcohol

Optimally, if you are a smoker, you should at least take a break from your habit. We recommend not smoking two weeks before and after the neck-lift operation. But if you believe you cannot do such a thing for this long, at least gradually decrease the consumption throughout the first week and stop at the second week. And likewise, try not to smoke for at least the first week after your operation. 

You also must not drink any alcohol for seven days before and after since it is a blood thinner. We recommend an alcohol-free period of two weeks, a week after and a week before the neck-lift surgery.

Blood Thinners

A week before the surgery, neck-lift patients must stop taking blood thinners. The reason is that it can increase the likelihood of unwanted complications during and after the procedure. We will go over this during the consultation phase, but to give you an idea, blood diluents include:

• Vitamin E
• Fish oil
• A group of medications called NSAIDs (this group includes medications like ibuprofen and aspirin)

Also, certain herbal supplements also work as blood thinners, so you should tell your doctor about them too.

Additional Advice

To decrease stress after your neck-lift surgery, you can make some other adjustments to aid you mentally. For example, planning for and/or preparing what you are going to eat for the next few days is a good idea. Additionally, you may use disposable kitchen utensils for the first few days so that you won’t need to think about doing the dishes, for example. Think of your first few days after surgery as a small vacation. Try to get away from things that give you stress. Maybe you can stock up on things to read or watch to avoid boredom too.

All in all, we recommend neck-lift patients to take it easy for a while after the operation. Try not to put yourself under unnecessary stress, and keep yourself relaxed as much as possible.